AU2020214963A1 - Bottle cap - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a closure cap to be placed on the neck of a drinks bottle. The invention has the object of providing a closure cap which bears as a closure seal against the top of the bottle neck. According to the invention, this is achieved by an upper breakthrough in the closure cap, into which an internally inserted disc-like decorative item engages, the closure cap having at least in part a retaining bead that runs parallel to the top of the closure cap and projects into the cap, into which retaining bead are inserted a liner plate also running parallel to the cap top and the decorative item engaging in the top. This liner plate secures the decorative item in the position in the top of the closure cap and bears as a closure seal against the top of the bottle neck.

Description

Bottle cap

The invention relates to a bottle cap according to the preamble of claim 1.

High-quality products, for example high-quality wines, require a considerable outlay in terms of production and finishing and achieve correspondingly high sales prices. Due to said sales prices and the complicated specialized production of the original products, it can be found ever more frequently that attempts are made to market significantly lower-value products in the packaging and labelling of the originals, which is detrimental to the customers.

The aim in this case is to give the impression that it is an original product, with it also being known, inter alia, to refill already used bottles of high-quality wine production, for example, and to seal them and thus to deceive the customers. In addition to copies of packagings, the original packagings are accordingly also reused and marketed.

It is therefore increasingly of importance for the producers of high-quality products to provide evidence as to whether an original product has already been sold and opened, or whether it is in the original state. There is therefore currently an investment in costly development activity in the region of what is referred to as tamper-proof protection in order to find technical solutions here that guarantee the intactness of an original packaging.

It is therefore the aim of these developments to put the purchaser in the position of being able to recognize whether the purchaser has an original product in front of them, or possibly a manipulated product in an original packaging. In addition to purchaser protection, this is also of great importance for the manufacturer since, in the event of a disservice to a purchaser caused by a lower-value copy in an original packaging, it is very difficult for the manufacturer to provide evidence that it is not an own brand product.

A declared aim of the manufacturers of high-quality products is therefore to permit the customer to have an option and access for checking the origin of a high-quality original product during the purchase and thus to avoid the purchase of a lower-value copied product. In addition to the sphere of high-quality alcoholic beverages that has been discussed, this may also be relevant to food in general, but also to medicaments or perfumes.

Solutions in the prior art which are already directed toward the security of such original products will be outlined below:

The publication EP 3 263 473 Al discloses a closure capsule for bottles, which is distinguished in that an NFC chip is integrated in the closure cover, via which additional information can be retrieved, for example, by means of a smartphone. For example, the consumer when purchasing such a bottle can obtain information about the manufacturer. In addition, tracking of the product is possible or else further information on the product can be retrieved. The NFC chip with additional wiring and an antenna are fixedly installed in this case on the inside of the cap.

The publication EP 3 336 011 Al likewise discloses, inter alia, a solution which proposes installing additional electronic components, which can contain, for example, information, in the packaging, for example of a bottle.

The disclosure CN 105923259 A discloses a bottle sealing ring which comprises components of an NFC sensor or of AF concept technology. The aim here is to enable checking of the sealing ring on bottles, which counters counterfeiting of beverage closures. The intention is thus to make it possible for the purchaser or retailer to check whether an originally sealed bottle is involved, for which purpose use can also be made of a smartphone.

The publication CN 106395129 A also discloses a solution which is aimed at avoiding the counterfeiting of bottle closures by means of NFC labels integrated in the closures. Opening the bottle would destroy this additional security element. Reuse is prevented. That is to say, an original bottle is involved only if the NFC label is undamaged and readable.

The disclosure in document CN 206375146 U relates to a wine bottle cap with an inbuilt miniature Bluetooth speaker and NFC communication. The miniature Bluetooth speaker enables sounds to be played back. The intention is for additional information to be able to be transmitted by the information stored on the NFC memory chip.

The publication WO 2018/136927 Al also discloses a closure for containers that is intended to protect against counterfeiting and product piracy. For this purpose, wireless technology is also intended to be integrated in the closure and can be retrieved, for example, via a cellphone. The intention is thus to enable authentication and further positive aspects by means of this bottle or this bottle closure, with the electronic elements being intended to be installed in the cover.

A further publication which is concerned with the security of containers by sensor technology for checking whether a vessel has already been opened is the document WO 2018/172964 Al. Wireless communication, for example, by means of nearfield communication sensors is also proposed here.

The publication WO 2013/122363 Al discloses a similar solution, in which, for example, a sensor with wireless nearfield communication is likewise intended to be used, with the intention for this to be present as a label on the bottle.

In the publication WO 2017/211890 Al, a chip for nearfield communication is again integrated in the base of a bottle. This chip is intended to communicate with a beverage dispenser in which said bottle can be put. This is intended to enable communication between the beverage dispenser and the inserted bottle.

The publication WO 2017/184603 Al discloses a further device which enables checking of bottles for the originally undamaged closure. For this purpose, an electronic sensor device with an antenna and a circuit and a sensor line are attached to a bottle in such a manner that they are arranged on the bottle closure via a rupture line. It is thereby intended to be identified whether a bottle has already been opened.

The disclosure WO 2016/ 179537 A2 is also aimed at a similar effect by a circuit and sensors being installed here in a cap of a medical vessel. These are intended to interact with a weight sensor. The intention is for extraction from the container to be able to be detected electronically and documented.

The integrity of a bottle closure is intended to also be able to be checked by the publication WO 2018 / 001572 Al, with a transponder with an antenna and a circuit also being integrated here in the shell of a bottle closure in the region of the encircling opening section. In this case, the intention is for the circuit to be destroyed when the bottle is opened and thus to be able to deliver a conclusion electronically about the seal and the intactness of the bottle closure.

The publication WO 2016/116672 Al likewise discloses an electronic device which aims to electronically detect the breaking open of a bottle closure and to present this in readable form via a memory chip. For this purpose, the cap is designed in strip form and is inserted into a bottle in a further cap.

The publication WO 2017/161098 Al discloses containers which have an electronic display on which information can be presented. Said display can also be integrated in the bottle closure or in the container itself.

The disclosure WO 2016/ 151434 Al relates to an electronic device on bottles, which device is arranged on the bottle neck by means of fastening means. The intention in this way is, for example, for the temperature of the beverage contained in the bottle to be able to be detected and to be able to be determined by means of a sensor. In addition, communication with electronic data processing is also intended to be possible wirelessly.

The disclosure WO 2018/199844 Al relates to the seal on a bottle closure. The intention also here is for the imitation and counterfeiting of products to be prevented by means of this device. The intention is for there also to be password protection which ensures the securing of the bottle closure by means of corresponding closure devices. A pushbutton can be integrated in the cap for this purpose.

A common feature in this connection in the prior art is that sensors are intended in particular to be used for detecting in what way a bottle has already been opened. The intention is also to provide additional information about sensors and memory chips contained in the label or in the bottle cap.

However, the prior art lacks solutions which integrate said components in a bottle cap in a structurally and visually attractive form.

Against this background, it is the object of the present invention to connect the authenticity verification by means of readable storage media to the structural and visually attractive design of a closure cap. In this connection, it is firstly intended to be ensured that the production and the attachment of the closure cap is possible economically and also in large piece numbers. At the same time, the intention is to achieve purchasing incentive by an esthetic appearance and added value of the closure cap.

This is achieved according to the invention by a closure cap for placing on the neck of a beverage bottle having the characterizing features of claim 1.

The further claims relate to advantageous refinements of said closure cap.

The solution according to the invention makes provision in this connection for the closure cap not merely to have a memory chip which, for example, in the form of an NFC or RFID chip, can be read by, for example, a smartphone by approaching it. Furthermore, first of all the closure cap is designed in a form permitting standardized use of the closure cap in, for example, bottling lines of automated form, but, secondly, the closure cap also adds esthetic additional components which in general form a purchasing incentive, but which can also be seen in combination with the readable information.

It is structurally provided for this purpose according to the invention to provide a closure cap with a top-side opening into which a disk-like decorative item is inserted into the inside of the closure cap in a manner engaging in said opening. Owing to said decorative disk which is inserted into the cap, firstly information is already provided that this is a special closure cap, with it being possible for information regarding the readability of a memory chip to already be provided on the decorative item which can be seen in the cap.

In addition, however, the decorative item also has advantages as a purchasing incentive since it can be used, for example, as a collector's item, as a token or similar of the manufacturer, in order to bring about customer retention. These advantages will be discussed once again in more detail below.

Structurally, it is likewise relevant to the invention that the cap at least partially has retaining beads protruding into the cap. These are arranged running parallel to the top side of the cap.

This arrangement of the inwardly protruding retaining beads makes it possible to structurally open up fastening options for the additional functional elements inserted in the closure cap. It is provided here according to the invention to fit said functional elements one above another into the head of the closure cap, with a liner plate finally forming the closure towards the bottle neck. The effect achieved by the arrangement of the inwardly protruding retaining beads and of the encircling retaining bead is that the liner plate can be pushed in via said retaining bead and thus forms the closure in the head of the closure cap.

Provision is made in this connection according to the invention to design the liner plate both in respect of its size and with regard to the material used so as to ensure secure engagement and thus pushing on of the functional elements, such as decorative items or else an NFC chip. The liner plate thus engages behind the retaining beads and leads, for example, to the decorative item being pushed on into the top-side opening of the closure cap. At the same time, however, it is also achieved that the liner plate sits as a sealing closure on the bottleneck and in this manner a filling and closure operation, for example, of a beverage bottle proceeding according to conventional method steps is furthermore possible.

It is expediently provided in this connection in terms of the method that the retaining bead is impressed in an encircling manner into the closure cap, i.e., when formed, for example, of aluminum sheet, the retaining bead is pushed in an encircling manner as an encircling channel-like depression into the shell of the closure cap. In this way, the assembly of said closure cap with the retaining bead according to the invention can be solved in a particularly simple manner in terms of the method and at the same time it is an encircling retaining bead which can ensure secure retention of the liner plate in the head of the closure cap.

An advantageous development of the inventive closure cap makes provision for a raised annular step to be arranged on the top side of the closure cap that is provided with the opening, said step protruding out of the closure cap top side. Said upwardly offset step thus brings about the formation of an annular collar, wherein the surface of the cap, as viewed from the outer edge of the cap, has two planes which are arranged parallel to each other and are connected to each other via the step. The edge region facing the edge of the closure cap is located lower here than the inner region which is offset with respect to the opening toward the center of the closure cap and is somewhat raised via the step.

The advantage of this design resides in the fact that it provides a possibility of permitting further orientation and adjustment of the decorative item in the head of the closure cap. It is inventively provided in this connection that the decorative item also has a corresponding gradation on its surface and thus engages with an analogous gradation in the corresponding step in the top side of the closure cap.

In this respect, in an advantageous refinement of the invention, the decorative item also has a top-side gradation which, starting from a higher level in the region in which the decorative item breaks through the opening in the top side of the closure cap, has a flattened portion toward the edge region of the closure cap.

The refinement here provides a gradation of the decorative plate that is then fitted into the corresponding gradation in the closure cap. In this respect, in the case of this solution, the diameter of the decorative plate is smaller than the diameter of the closure cap itself or also the liner plate.

A particularly advantageous refinement of the closure cap makes provision here for the top-side opening to be circular and to be positioned in a centered position in the top side of the closure cap. This corresponds to a disk-like decorative item which likewise has a centered and circular raised center surface which completely engages in the opening in the closure cap. In the case of this solution, it is advantageous in particular that, when the functional components are joined together, the decorative item is introduced into the central opening in the closure cap automatically in the correct position by means of a guide in the cylindrical closure cap. A special orientation during the installation of the individual components is not required in this respect.

In an alternative design, the decorative item protruding out of the top-side opening in the closure cap can also have flat elevations which are not circular, but rather are, for example, polygonal, oval or have any desired further form. In this case, however, upon insertion into the opening, to be formed analogously, in the closure cap top side, an exact orientation of said decorative item is required in order, for example, to correctly insert a triangular elevation in the decorative item into the correspondingly triangular opening in the closure cap top side.

According to the invention, for example, an NFC chip in the form of a data memory chip containing additional information is either arranged on the liner plate itself or arranged on an additional carrier. It has arisen here as being expedient for the NFC chip to be able to be placed on an additional thin carrier, the dimensions of which follow the configuration of the liner or are slightly smaller.

In an expedient refinement of the invention, for example, three functional elements arise which are to be introduced into the closure cap in a manner lying one on the other, beginning with the decorative body which is placed on the top side and has a top-side elevation, below which a carrier disk, for example approximately of the size of the liner plate is arranged, on which carrier disk, for example, an NFC chip is arranged. Finally, as the lowermost layer, the liner plate is introduced into the closure cap and pushed over the retaining bead and thus fixed releasably in the head of the closure cap.

With regard to the dimensions of the structural elements of the closure cap, the following dimensional ranges have been identified as being expedient:

The encircling raised step on the top side of the closure cap can vary here in its height between 0.2 mm and approximately 0.8 mm. It has turned out here that this height of the closure cap step can be realized advantageously in terms of tools and materials and at the same time presents an attractive solution visually.

The central region of the decorative item that reaches as a raised section through the opening in the top side of the closure cap should have approximately a diameter of 20 mm.

The flattened edge region of the decorative item, from which the raised central region emerges, should have a width of 2 to 6 mm. This firstly enables the design of the corresponding receptacle in the top side of the closure cap to be readily realized in terms of method. Secondly, a secure support of the decorative item in the closure cap can thus be achieved. Finally, it is also a solution which has turned out to be advantageous visually.

The arrangement of the retaining bead in the closure cap can be approximately between 0.4 and 1.5 centimeters below the upper edge of the closure cap. This ensures that the structural elements, which are held in the bead, of the disk shaped decorative item and of the liner plate and possibly of a carrier for a memory chip find room in the space in the head of the closure cap. In the event of structural elements which are of correspondingly thinner design, it can also lead to a retaining bead which runs ever closer to the upper edge of the cap.

The inventive closure cap combines the tried and tested advantages of the standardized closure cap, of a length for example of 30 x 60 mm, with the advantageous function of integrating a memory chip, for example an NFC chip, in a technically simple and at the same visually attractive manner, which chip can easily be used by all customary smartphone systems. In combination with the decorative item, in addition to purchasing incentive and customer retention, the following advantages arise in the regions of:

Combatting copying of the product:

- Fighting against fraud - Protection from tampering

- Security against counterfeits - Brand authentication

Brand marketing:

- Improved brand and purchasing experience - Consumer convenience because of a secure, rapid and simple system - Interactive use which is fun - Increase in customer loyalty - Confidence in the brand - Option for collections

Full transparency in the supply chain:

- Life cycle monitoring, from production via the market to production - Consumers - Increased brand information - Complete traceability and recordable monitoring of the supply chain

Product specification

- For example aluminum screw closure of 30 mm diameter (30 x 60 mm) - For BVS / BVP 30 H and GPI-1680 bottleneck finishes - Different liner options, for example for alcohol up to 50%, depending on use - PVC- and PVDC-free liner provides optimum sealing performance

The invention will be described by way of example below with reference to drawings, in which

Figure 1 shows a perspectively sectioned illustration of the closure cap 1 with the functional components arranged in the closure cap 1, in an exploded illustration;

Figure 2 shows a perspective view of a closure cap 1;

Figure 3 shows a top view of the top side of the closure cap 1;

Figure 4 shows the closure cap 1 in a side view;

Figure 5 shows a section through a constructional form of the closure cap according to the invention with a decorative item 5 and a liner plate 7;

Figure 6 shows a decorative item 5 in a sectioned illustration;

Figure 7 shows a bottom view of the decorative item 5;

Figure 8 shows a top view of a decorative item 5, and

Figure 9 shows a section through a further embodiment of the closure cap 1 according to the invention.

Figure 1 shows the arrangement of the functional components of the closure body 5, of a carrier 6 with a memory medium 8 and of the closing liner plate 7 in an exploded drawing and arranged in a sectioned closure cap 1.

It becomes clear here that an opening 3 is provided in the top side of the closure cap 1, through which opening the decorative item 5 partially emerges from the closure cap 1. In this embodiment, a carrier 6 in disk-like form, on which a memory chip 8, in this case an NFC chip, is arranged between the decorative item 5 and the closing liner plate 7. This memory chip 8 is accordingly used between the closing decorative item 5 and the inner liner plate 7.

Next to the top-side opening 3, the closure cap 1 has a special formation below the top side 2 of the closure cap 1. This embodiment involves a retaining bead 4 which is arranged in an encircling manner annularly below the top side 2 of the closure cap 1. Said retaining bead 4 is arranged offset in its depth on the shell of the closure cap 1 in such a manner that the package of the functional elements - the decorative item 5, the carrier 6 and the liner plate 7 - is accommodated in terms of the thickness thereof in the head of the closure cap 1 entirely above said retaining bead 4.

The retaining bead 4 is arranged here embossed inward in the closure cap 1 and is cut in at such a depth that the liner plate 7 has to be pushed over said retaining bead 4, and, after elastic deformation of the liner plate 7, the retaining bead 4 is located below the liner plate 7 and fixes the latter in its position in the head of the closure cap 1.

Figures 2 to 4 now show an exemplary closure cap 1 of this type, as could be applied, for example, to a wine bottle. It can be seen here in the various views that the central region of the decorative body 5 emerges from the closure cap 1 on the top side and in raised form. Said central region is higher, by means of a step 11 which is illustrated in figure 6, than the encircling edge 9 of the decorative body 5, which encircling edge 9 is likewise illustrated in figure 6.

This becomes particularly clear in figure 4 where the decorative item 5 can be seen above the surface 2 of the closure cap 1. The retaining bead 4 can also be seen here in the figures, said retaining bead 4 running below the top side 2 of the closure cap 1 and fixing the functional elements of the decorative item 5 and at least of the liner plate 7 in the head of the closure cap.

Figure 5 illustrates a constructional form of the closure cap 1 sectioned in the upper region thereof. It also becomes clear here that the retaining bead 4 is arranged in the shell of the closure cap 1 in order to fix the combination of liner plate 7 and decorative item 5 in position. Also illustrated here is a bottleneck 16 on which the closure cap 1 has already been embossed in this case, and therefore the bottleneck thread 15 can be seen here. In this embodiment, the retaining bead 4 is located above said thread and thus has the effect that the liner plate 7 is fixed above the bottleneck 16 on which the liner plate 7 sits firmly, when, for example, a wine bottle is closed, and thus seals the bottle.

It can be seen in this embodiment that the decorative item 5 is not designed as an item with a flat, planar surface, but rather a step 11 is provided here, as can also be seen in detail in figure 6. The decorative item 5 is indicated here by a lower side which, in the present constructional form, has a gently extending depression 12. This depression is used to spatially receive an NFC memory chip 8 possibly arranged between the liner plate 7 and said decorative item 5. The effect here is intended to be that a pressure is not exerted on said NFC memory chip 8 to an extent which could impair the functionality of the memory chip 8 or destroy the latter.

The decorative item 5 in this exemplary constructional form has a peripheral flattened edge region 9 which is raised toward the center via a step 11 to a higher level in the center plane 10. This is the region which is intended to emerge from the opening 3 in the top side 2 of the closure cap 1. The encircling edge region 9 engages here behind the top side of the closure cap to the side of the opening 3 and thus fixes the decorative body 5 in the opening 3.

Figures 7 and 8 firstly show the view of the lower side of the decorative body 5 with the gentle depression 12, as the latter has already been explained with regard to figure 6. In addition, the top view in figure 8 shows the raised central region 10 and the flattened edge region 9 of the decorative body 5, which regions are connected to each other via the inclined step 11. This flank 11 here can assume different height dimensions, this in particular being a matter of visual appearance, since this determines by how much the central region 10 emerges from the opening 3 in the top side 2 of the closure cap 1.

Figure 9 now shows a further variation in which the description with regard to figure 5 continues to be largely applicable. However, added to this is a modified design of the top side 2 of the closure cap 1, since this now likewise has a further step 13, as a result of which the top side 2 has a flatter edge region which is raised by means of the step 13 to a higher ring region 14 which leads into the opening 3. That is to say, there is a raised ring region 14 starting from the opening 3, said ring region 14, in the illustrated configuration of the invention, receiving the flattened edge region 9 of the decorative body 5.

The advantage of this constructional form resides in the fact that the position of the decorative item is once again integrated here more exactly in said corresponding receptacle in the top side 2 of the closure cap 1 since the liner plate 7 at the edge region of the top side 2 of the closure cap 1 bears directly against the latter and the decorative item 5 is likewise fitted into the top side 2 in a completely precisely fitting manner.

Claims (1)

Patent claims

1. A closure cap (1) for placing onto the neck of a beverage bottle,

characterized by

- a top-side opening (1) in the closure cap (1),

- in which a disk-like decorative item (5) inserted into the inside of the closure cap (1) engages,

- wherein the closure cap (1) at least partially has a retaining bead (4) which runs parallel to the top side of the closure cap (1), protrudes into the closure cap (1),

- and into which a liner plate (7), likewise running parallel to the closure cap top side (2) and to the decorative items (5) engaging in the top side, is inserted, said liner plate (7) at least fixing the decorative items (5) in the position in the top side of the closure cap (1) and bearing as a closure seal against the top side of the bottle neck (16).

2. The closure cap (1) as claimed in claim 1,

characterized in that

the retaining bead (4) is introduced in an encircling manner into the closure cap (1), wherein the retaining bead (4) in the form of a recessed depression is formed as an encircling depression out of the closure cap (1) itself.

3. The closure cap (1) as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a step (13, 14) which is raised annularly in relation to the base area of the cap top side (2) and is intended for receiving the decorative item (5) is arranged on the top side of the closure cap (1).

4. The closure cap (1) as claimed in one of claims 1 to 3,

characterized in that

the decorative item (5) has a top-side gradation (11), as a result of which a flattened edge region (9) running with respect to the outer edge of the decorative body (5) is formed, and a central region (10) of the decorative item (5) that is formed raised in relation to said flattened edge region (9) engages in a precisely fitting manner in the opening (3) in the top side (2) of the closure cap (1) and protrudes out of said opening (3) from the plane of the top side (2) of the closure cap (1).

5. The closure cap (1) as claimed in one of the preceding claims,

characterized in that

the top-side opening (3) is arranged in a circular and centered manner in the closure cap top side (2) and, in a manner corresponding thereto, the raised central region (10) of the decorative item (5) is formed in a circular and centered manner.

6. The closure cap (1) as claimed in one of the preceding claims,

characterized in that

an NFC memory chip or another data memory chip (8) is arranged on the liner plate (7) or on a separate carrier

(6) and is readable by means of a reading device by approaching it, the carrier (6) being arranged between the liner (7) and the decorative item (5).

7. The closure cap (1) as claimed in one of the preceding claims,

characterized in that

the encircling raised step (13) on the top side (2) of the closure cap (1) has a height of approximately 0.2 to approximately 0.8 millimeters in which the flattened edge region (9) of the decorative body (5) engages.

8. The closure cap (1) as claimed in one of the preceding claims,

characterized in that

the raised central region (10) on the decorative item (5) has approximately a diameter of 20 millimeters.

9. The closure cap (1) as claimed in one of the preceding claims,

characterized in that

the encircling flattened edge region (9) of the decorative item (5) has approximately a width of 2 to 6 millimeters.

10. The closure cap (1) as claimed in one of the preceding claims,

characterized in that

the retaining bead (4) is arranged approximately 0.5 to 1.5 centimeters below the upper edge of the closure cap (1) in a manner encircling parallel thereto.

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