CH686361A5 - Plastic cap for wine bottle - Google Patents

Abstract

The cap made from an injection moulded synthetic material, has a rigid top (30) which is linked to a lower tamper-proof skirt (31) in the form of an upper ring (10) and a lower truncated conical portion (11) which tapers towards the ring. The ring is connected to the rigid top by a tear-off zone (30), and the height of the skirt is greater than that of the top. The rigid top can have an inner thread and a seal made from a circle of a deformable synthetic material, covered on its exposed surface with a layer of metallised or plain plastics, such as polyester. The skirt has one or more rupture lines (33) and can have a tongue (33) which is pulled to remove the skirt. The cap is made pref. from food-grade polyethylene, tinted in the mass.

Description

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Description

The subject of the present invention is a stopper with a plastic guarantee, that is to say a stopper which will not allow the opening of the container which it closes without this opening being visible, for example by tearing or separation of part of this plug.

The present invention relates more particularly, but not exclusively, to corks with a guarantee intended for closing wine bottles.

Traditionally, wine bottles are closed with corks, then capped, these capsules completely enveloping the top of the bottle and extending several centimeters along the neck of the bottle. These capsules are generally made of colored pewter or provided with inscriptions or decorations.

Good quality cork becoming more and more rare and more and more expensive, we made metallic screw caps for wine bottles. These stoppers include a collar of low height, 2 to 3 mm, narrowed under the rim of the neck of the bottle and a line of rupture by precut makes it possible to separate this collar from the cap during its unscrewing thus ensuring the function of guarantee. These metal stoppers include a plastic or cardboard seal covered with a metallic sheet, generally of aluminum and giving, from the point of view of corking, any satisfaction, at least for white wines.

These metal plugs nevertheless have major drawbacks which are:

- not being able to give the corked bottle the appearance of a traditional bottle whose neck is covered with the cap over 3 to 4 cm.

- To complicate, even to prohibit, the recovery of empty bottles due to the fact that the metal flange which detaches from the stopper when it is unscrewed remains on the neck of the bottle and can only be removed therefrom with great difficulty.

The object of the present invention is the production of a cork with a guarantee, in particular for closing wine bottles, allowing the replacement of cork and giving the corked bottle a traditional appearance while avoiding that when it is opened a part of the stopper remains integral with the neck of the bottle.

The subject of the present invention is a stopper with guarantee, in particular for wine bottles, tending to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks and distinguished by the characteristics listed in claim 1.

The accompanying drawing illustrates schematically and by way of example an embodiment of the stopper according to the present invention.

Fig. 1 is an axial section of a first embodiment of the stopper in the service position closing a bottle.

Fig. 2 is an elevational view of the plug illustrated in FIG. 1.

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of the plug illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, its skirt being partially torn off.

Figs. 4-6 are figures similar to fig. 1-3 of a second embodiment of the cap.

Figs. 7 and 8 illustrate a practical embodiment of the stopper according to the invention.

The stopper with guarantee for screw thread bottles, and in particular for wine bottles, as illustrated in figs. 1 to 3, is made by plastic injection, generally food-grade polyethylene.

This stopper comprises a rigid head 1 which can be provided on its periphery with ribs or other formations facilitating its gripping and its rotation. The internal cylindrical surface of this head is provided, near its front face 2, with a screw pitch 3 intended to cooperate with a screw pitch 4 carried by the external surface of the neck 5 of the bottle. The internal face of this head closely follows the external surface of the neck up to the lower end of its cylindrical bulge 6.

The bottom of the head 1 receives a seal 7 consisting of a washer of compressible plastic material covered on at least its free face with a metal sheet, generally an aluminum sheet. The free face of this or these metal sheets may be covered with a plastic film, generally PET. This seal 7 is held in position between the bottom of the head 1, the thickness of which is slightly greater in the center than at the periphery, and the thread 3 of the head.

The internal face of the bottom of the head may have a circular rib, of a diameter less than the internal diameter of the head, allowing in the screwed-in service position to apply the seal by force against the neck of a bottle, this seal marrying then the shape of the free upper face of this neck.

The beginning of the screw thread 3 constitutes an axial stop defining the screwed position of the stopper on the bottle, axial stop which, in the closed position, comes into contact with the upper part of the bulge 6 of the neck.

The distance separating the bottom of the head from the start of the thread 3 corresponds to the thickness of the seal 7 in the compressed state increased by the distance separating the front part of the neck 5 from the upper part of its bulge 6. When the the stopper is thus screwed fully onto the neck, the seal 7 is sufficiently compressed and deformed to ensure perfect sealing of the bottle.

In the service position screwed onto the neck 5 of a bottle, the lower edge 8 of the head 1 of the stopper is situated substantially in the plane containing the lower face 9 of the cylindrical bulge 6 of the bottle.

The stopper according to the invention also comprises a collar or skirt comprising an upper ring 10 with an inner diameter less than that of the rim 8 of the head 1, and therefore less than the outside diameter of the bulge 6 of the neck. This ring 10, of generally frustoconical shape flaring towards the head 1 of the plug is secured to a

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frustoconical wall 11 flaring in the opposite direction to the head 1 of the plug. This frustoconical wall 11 closely follows the part of the neck 5 of the bottle located just below the bulge 6 and extends over 2 to 3 cm or more as required, in particular aesthetic.

The neck or skirt formed by the ring 10 and the frustoconical wall 11 is connected to the head 1 of the plug by a veil or membrane 17 of plastic material with a thickness of the order of 0.2 to 0.4 mm, preferably 0.3 mm, while the rest of the skirt has a thickness of the order of 1 mm and the lower edge of the head 1 a thickness generally greater than one millimeter.

The skirt has, at a location on its periphery, an opening 12 which totally or partially cuts off at least the ring 10 and thus creates a tear initiation which, as will be seen below, will make it possible to separate the ring 10, and therefore the guarantee skirt of the cap head.

On the same generatrix as the opening 12, the skirt has a reduction in its thickness to around 0.3 mm constituting a tear line 13 extending over a distance less than the height of the skirt. This thinner part 13 is followed, still on the same generatrix of the skirt of a slot 14 constituting a total sectioning of the skirt to its open lower end.

The bottom of the skirt, or of the frustoconical wall 11, has a tear-off tongue 15 situated in the immediate vicinity of the slot 14. For a plug which is normally screwed in a clockwise direction, this tear-off tongue 15 is located to the left of slot 14. It would be on the other side of this slot for a reverse screw thread cap.

Generally such a stopper is produced by injecting plastic material into a mold comprising a punch having the shape of the neck of the bottle. It is therefore necessary to obtain a release of the plug which does not cause the tearing of the skirt that this skirt has a certain elasticity allowing it to widen to let pass the part of larger diameter of this punch. This could possibly be obtained by demolding at a certain temperature allowing this widening. However, such a solution is not satisfactory because it is then necessary when corking the bottles that this skirt widens elastically to pass over the bulge 6 of the neck 5 and that it then retracts to closely fit this neck and that the ring 10 comes to lock the stopper on the bottle by pressing against the underside of the bulge 6. This establishment of the stopper must be done without the veil or membrane 10 connecting the head 1 to the skirt being torn .

To obtain sufficient radial elasticity of the skirt, it comprises over all or part of its height at least two or three, but preferably six or more, longitudinal zones 16 of thickness reduced to about 3-4 tenths of a millimeter. The outer surface of the skirt is smooth, while its inner surface is thus grooved. These grooves are however invisible from the outside of the stopper, the pigmentation and coloring of the plastic being sufficient.

Thus, thanks to these grooves or parts of reduced thickness of the skirt, it is given a sufficient own radial elasticity for it to spread, and in particular for the ring 10 to spread, when of the establishment of the stopper on a bottle without the film or membrane connecting the ring 10 to the rim 8 of the head 1 being damaged. In addition, it is not possible to simply decrease uniformly the thickness of the skirt to give the necessary radial elasticity because, to separate the plug from the punch during manufacture, it is not only necessary to pull on the head, but also push the skirt by its lower edge to prevent it from separating from the head. This skirt must therefore have high rigidity in the axial direction.

To obtain the required elasticity of the skirt, taking into account the material used and the difference in diameter between the external surface of the bulge 6 and the adjacent part of the neck of the bottle, the number and width of these zones of reduced thickness 16. To obtain the same elasticity, the greater the number of zones 16, the more their width can be reduced and vice versa.

To put the cap in place on a bottle it is threaded axially on the neck of the bottle until the bulge 6 of the bottle exceeds the ring 10 of the cap and that the thread of the bottle and the cap touch, then the cap is screwed which causes the compression of the seal 7 and therefore the hermetic closure of the bottle and simultaneously the retraction of the ring 10 under the bulge 6 of the neck preventing any unscrewing of the cap without damaging it.

This stopper thus makes it possible to seal the bottle tightly, to guarantee its inviolability since it is not possible to remove it without damaging it. In addition, this plastic stopper is hygienic and advantageously replaces cork even for the organoleptic qualities of wine. Finally, thanks to the skirt 10, 11, the external appearance of the corked bottle is that of a traditional bottle.

To remove the plug, simply pull on the tab 15 causing the skirt to rupture along the slot 14 and the initiation of rupture 13, then the separation of the skirt from the head by tearing of the membrane connecting the ring 10 to the head 1. It will be noted that by pulling on the tongue 15 to cause the separation of the skirt from the head, the cap is not unscrewed, but on the contrary it is screwed harder.

Then the skirt being separated from the head, one can unscrew the cap and of course screw it back on to temporarily stop the bottle if necessary.

This stopper therefore still has the advantages of leaving nothing around the neck when it is opened, the skirt being torn and separated from the stopper and the bottle, which allows this bottle to be recovered. Finally, the cap head can be used to close the bottle.

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The plastic of the stopper can of course be tinted in the mass, generally white or red like traditional tin capsules. These corks can also be printed, by screen printing or tempography, to display a decoration or the name of the owner or wine merchant.

This stopper therefore gives for the first time a valid alternative from an environmental point of view, bottle appearance and organoleptic to the traditional cork stopper and tin capsules.

In a variant, the head of the stopper could have no thread and could be used with bottles without thread. The maintenance of the stopper on the bottle is then only ensured by the ring 10 coming when the stopper is housed under the bulge 6 of the bottle.

Figs. 4 to 6 illustrate a second embodiment of a plug according to the invention. In this embodiment, the cap always includes a head 1, the bottom 2 of which is provided with a seal 7 and the internal wall of which is provided with a thread 3. This head 1 is connected to a detachable part constituted by a ring. 10 and a skirt 11, both tronconi-ques but in opposite directions as in the first embodiment.

In this second embodiment, the tearable zone connecting the head 1 to the tearable part 10, 11 is constituted either by a pre-perforated zone, or by pins 20 connecting the ring 10 to a flange 21 integral with the ring 10 and likewise outer diameter than the bottom of the head 1.

Thanks to this tearable zone formed by perforations or nipples 20, the head 1 of the plug can be separated from the rest by unscrewing, causing the nipples 20 to rupture.

In this embodiment, the tear-off tab 15 is located between two tear initiations each consisting of an opening 22 at least partially cutting off the ring 10, a zone of thinner thickness 23 aligned on the generator having the corresponding opening 22 , zone 23 ending in a slot 24.

In this embodiment, the internal walls of the skirt 11 and of the ring 10 are smooth and of approximately constant thickness. The radial elasticity of the ring 10 and of the skirt 11 necessary to unmold the stopper during its manufacture and to place it on a bottle is then obtained here only by the two tear primers 22, 23, 24 arranged on each side of the tongue 15.

The inclination of the internal surface of the ring 10 is such that the axial force necessary to cause its elastic spacing is greater than the breaking force of the nipples 20. Thus, the stopper is indeed a guarantee stopper, its opening that it is caused by unscrewing the head 1 and breaking of nipples 20 or by tearing off the tongue 15 and separation of the skirt and the ring from the head, always causes a separation between its skirt and its head.

This embodiment of the stopper has the advantage of allowing it to be opened in two ways and of always allowing the removal of the skirt from the neck of the bottle without tools, by simply tearing off the tongue 15.

In a variant, the zones of thinner thickness 23 of the initiation of rupture of the skirt may include perforations. Generally, the resistance to tearing off the zone of thinner thickness of the breaking point increases from the bottom of the skirt towards the ring. This allows to obtain both an easy tearing of the tongue to open the skirt and a good fixing of the stopper on the neck of a bottle immediately after its positioning already.

It is obvious that depending on the inherent elasticity of the plastic material used to manufacture the stopper, and if the zones 23 are not sufficient to give the required radial elasticity, local thinning of the skirt 11 and of the ring 10 can be provided as in the first embodiment described.

It is obvious that these local thinning of the skirt 11 and / or of the ring 10 could lead not as illustrated on the internal face of the skirt, but on the external face of the latter.

In a variant, it is possible to provide, in a manner known per se, one or more drive formations integral with the head cooperating with openings in the skirt. Each drive formation and its corresponding opening have a straight drive flank, extending approximately along a generatrix of the plug and an oblique blank, forming an angle with respect to a generatrix of the plug.

Figs. 7 and 8 illustrate a practical embodiment of the stopper according to the invention comprising a rigid head 30 connected to a separable part 31 by a tearable guarantee zone 32. The separable part is formed as previously described by a skirt having a ring 10 and a lower portion 11. This separable part 31 further comprises a tongue 15 for opening said skirt connected to the latter by tear caps provided with pre-perforations 33 ending in the direction of the ring 10 by a thicker portion and full 34. The ring 10 itself is interrupted at 35, 35a in the direction of these fracture initiators.

The connection between the head 30 and the skirt 31 is produced by separate pins 36 constituting the tear-off guarantee zone.

On this embodiment we see the rotational drive formations of the skirt 31 by the head, for its screwing on a bottle; corresponding male 37 and female 38 formations forming respectively part of the head and the skirt.

For the rest, this execution has the same main characteristics as those described in relation to the previous forms of execution.

In a variant, the seal 7 placed at the bottom of the rigid head 30 comprises one or more small diameter perforations arranged in a central area with a diameter of the order of 14 mm, of this seal. These perforations are such that they prevent a flow of conti5 liquid

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naked in the bottle but that they allow a gas, air or oxygen exchange by passage between the contents of the bottle and the outside on the one hand through these perforations and then by diffusion through the material from the bottom of the head 30. This is particularly useful for bottling long-keeping red wines whose organoleptic qualities must still evolve after bottling by slow and controlled contact with the ambient air outside the corked bottle as is the case with cork stoppers.

Claims (24)

Claims 1. Stopper with injected plastic guarantee, in particular for wine bottles, comprising a rigid head connected to a separable part by a tearable guarantee zone characterized in that the separable part is in the form of a skirt having a upper ring and a lower frusto-conical portion narrowing in the direction of the ring, by the fact that the ring is connected to the head of the stopper by said tearable zone and by the fact that a generatrix of the skirt is provided with a tear primer. 2. Cap according to claim 1 characterized in that the head comprises in the vicinity of its bottom a thread and by the fact that a seal is placed at the bottom of the head, seal formed by a washer made of material deformable synthetic material covered on its free face with at least one metallic foil. 3. Cap according to claim 1 or claim 2 characterized in that the initiation of rupture of the skirt comprises, aligned on a generator thereof, an opening sectioning the ring, a portion of reduced thickness and a slot going to the open end of the skirt. 4. Stopper according to claim 1 or claim 3, characterized in that it comprises a tear-off tab located in the immediate vicinity of the tear initiation of the skirt and extending beyond its lower end. 5. Stopper according to claim 4, characterized in that it comprises on each side of the tear-off tab a primer of rupture. 6. Stopper according to claim 1, 4 or 5, characterized in that the rupture initiator (s) comprises, aligned on a generatrix of the skirt, an opening cutting the ring, a zone of reduced and pre-perforated thickness and a slot going to the open end of the skirt. 7. Stopper according to one of claims 1 and 4 to 6, characterized in that the tearable zone is constituted by a membrane. 8. Stopper according to one of claims 1 and 4 to 6, characterized in that the tearable zone is constituted by a pre-perforated circular zone. 9. Stopper according to one of claims 1 and 4 to 6, characterized in that the tearable zone is constituted by separate pins distributed over the circumference of this zone and connecting the head to the skirt. 10. Cap according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the skirt has axial zones of smaller thickness, the width and the number of which are defined as a function of the required radial elasticity of the skirt. 11. Stopper according to claim 10 characterized in that the thickness of the skirt is between 0.8 and 1.2 mm, while the zones of thinner thickness of this skirt are of the order of 0.2 0.4 mm, as well as the break point and the film connecting the ring to the head. 12. Cap according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the skirt has a length greater than 2 cm, preferably between 3 and 3.5 cm. 13. Stopper according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is made of food-grade polyethylene dyed in the mass. 14. Stopper according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is provided with inscriptions or decorations on its outer surface. 15. Stopper according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that its head comprises formations which facilitate its gripping and its rotation. 16. Plug according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that its smallest internal diameter is located at the junction of the ring and the cylindrical wall of the skirt. 17. Stopper according to claim 16, characterized in that the ring is frustoconical flaring towards the head of the stopper. 18. Stopper according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the diameter of the intersection of the internal surfaces of the ring and the skirt is less than the outside diameter of the bulge of a bottle to be closed by this stopper and by the fact that the own radial elasticity of the skirt and of the ring allows the spacing of this minimum diameter allowing the passage of the bulge when the bottle is capped. 19. Cap according to claim 2, characterized in that the metal sheet of the seal is covered with a film of PET synthetic material. 20. Stopper according to one of claims 3 to 6, characterized in that the zone of reduced thickness of the tear initiator has in its upper part, adjacent to the ring, a solid portion of greater resistance than the lower part opening onto the slot in this fracture initiator. 21. Cap according to one of claims 3 to 6 or 20, characterized in that the zone of reduced thickness of the tear primer has a resistance to tearing. progressive from the slot towards the ring. 22. Stopper according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the inner face of the head has a circular rib with a diameter less than the internal diameter of this head. 23. Plug according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lower edge of the head comprises at least one drive formation extending in an opening of the 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 5 g CH 686 361 A5 ring, this formation and this corresponding opening having a straight drive flank extending approximately along a generatrix of the plug and an oblique flank, forming an angle with respect to a generatrix of the plug. 24. Cap according to one of claims 2 to 23, characterized in that the seal placed at the bottom of the head has one or more perforations in its central zone whose diameter is such that the liquid contained in the bottle can not flow but allowing the passage of a gas including air or oxygen. 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 6