EP0015825A1 - Overcap for wire-retained bottle closure - Google Patents

Abstract

1. A capsule for capping bottles having a cork-wire, said capsule including a slot (11, 12) through which the loop of the cork-wire passes when setting said cap on the bottle, wherein said slot (11, 12) has the shape of a curve, the concavity of which is directed towards the lower part of said capsule.

Description

The present invention relates to a capsule for overcapping bottles provided with a wire cap and allowing easy passage of the wire ring when capping the bottles.

Champagne bottles, more generally those of sparkling wines and often carbonated drinks such as ciders, are closed by a stopper held in the neck under a strong constraint due to the pressure in the bottle. This plug is held in place, despite the pressure, by a piece, made of twisted metal wire, called "wire cup". This muselet is supported on the top of the stopper by means of a metal plate which prevents its penetration into the stopper. It is supported, at its lower part, on the ring of the bottle, a twisted loop at the time of installation coming to decrease the initial diameter, this twisted loop being folded longitudinally upwards on the neck of the bottle. The opening of the bottle implies the grip and the deployment of this loop which is then untwisted to release the muselet then the stopper.

After closure, the stopper, the wire cap and a part of the neck of the bottle were formerly covered with a thin sheet glued and crumpled, in tin or later in aluminum. This sheet was intended for the protection of the cork as well as for the decoration of the bottle. A drawback was difficulty at the time of unblocking, research and release of an- _'- neau of the twisted loop of the wire cage.

This process is now in the majority of cases, replaced by the use of capsules or overcaps, pre-shaped, first of lead-tin and today more generally of aluminum. The capsule has the shape of an elongated truncated cone, closed at the top and open at the base. During installation, it is pressed onto the cap and the neck, then crimped to the shape of the latter, generally by means of four vertical folds which are then folded down and smoothed. A line of perforations, coming to be placed under the ring of the bottle, is often used to facilitate the uncapping.

An advantage of these capsules is that they can be visibly printed with the brand of the product; another is to allow, thanks to a slot provided for this purpose, the passage of the ring of the muselet. In this case, when the bottle is opened, the ring is very visible on the outside and as soon as it is untwisted, the perforations provided around the capsule allow total clearance of the head of the bottle. However, on existing capsules, the shape of this slot is generally such that it is necessary to force the capsule on the neck of the bottle to obtain the passage of the ring or twisted loop of the wire through the opening made. Such capsules can therefore be used when they are placed by hand on the bottles but cannot be used on automated chains, the shape of the cut-out does not allow the capsule to be pushed in correctly by making it stand out correctly. said ring.

For these reasons, we have so far abandoned show the wire ring through the capsule when wrapped on an automated chain. The wire ring is therefore covered and it is therefore difficult to find and remove from the capsule when opening the bottle.

For the purpose of rapid opening, some capsules are provided with a tear strip according to a well-known method for opening small packages. The disadvantages are high cost and limited efficiency, the end of the tear strip not always being very visible.

The object of the present invention is to produce a capsule allowing a rapid and safe passage of the ring of the muselet when the capsule is applied, even on an automatic machine.

For the realization of this object, a capsule is provided comprising a slot having the shape of a continuous or broken curve whose concavity is turned towards the bottom of the capsule. According to a more particular embodiment of the invention, the slot made in the capsule is an arc of a circle. According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the slot has the form of a broken line whose central part is horizontal and whose two more or less inclined sides are directed downward relative to the central part.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the extreme low points of the slit are extended by the perforations which are usually made to allow the capsule to be torn at the level of the muselet, the usual perforations being eliminated between the two ends of the slit. According to yet another characteristic of the invention, provision is made to suppress in the zone delimited by the slot the grooves usually produced on the upper part of the capsule. According to yet another characteristic of the invention, provision is made to eliminate in the area adjacent to the slot, above the latter, the grooves usually produced in the top of the capsule.

• La figure 1 représente une capsule traditionnelle comportant une fente permettant le passage de la boucle du muselet lors de la mise en place manuelle de la capsule sur la bouteille;
• La figure 2 est une vue partielle d'une capsule de l'art antérieur comportant une bande de déchirement;
• La figure 3 est une vue partielle d'une capsule selon l'invention comportant une fente permettant la mise en place de la capsule sur une machine automatique;
• La figure 4 est une vue partielle d'une variante de réalisation d'une capsule selon l'invention;
• La figure 5 est une vue partielle d'une autre variante de réalisation d'une capsule selon l'invention.

Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will emerge from the following description of embodiments, given by way of illustration but in no way limiting, made in relation to the appended drawings, in which:

• FIG. 1 represents a traditional capsule comprising a slot allowing the passage of the wire loop when the capsule is placed manually on the bottle;
• Figure 2 is a partial view of a capsule of the prior art comprising a tear strip;
• Figure 3 is a partial view of a capsule according to the invention comprising a slot for the establishment of the capsule on an automatic machine;
• Figure 4 is a partial view of an alternative embodiment of a capsule according to the invention;
• Figure 5 is a partial view of another alternative embodiment of a capsule according to the invention.

Referring to Figure 1, it can be seen that a capsule is generally in the form of a truncated cone closed at its upper end 1 and open at its lower end 2. In order to allow tearing and removal of the part upper part of the capsule when uncorking the bottle, the capsule has a perforation line 3. In order to allow the passage of the wire loop when the capsule is placed on the bottle, the latter includes a slot 4 delimiting a tab 5 which is raised during installation. Optionally, the capsule also includes grooves 6 extending along the line of greatest slope of the truncated cone.

According to the variant embodiment, represented in FIG. 2, the capsule comprises two lines of perforations 7 and 8 delimiting between them a tear strip sometimes reinforced internally by a ribbon of a material suitable for use, plastic, aluminum or other and whose ends 9 can be cut in shape to allow easier gripping, a space 10 sometimes existing between the ends of the tear strip.

The disadvantages of these embodiments have been explained above.

According to the invention, there is provided, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, a slot formed substantially at the same level as the slot 4 of Figure 1, but having a concavity facing downwards. According to the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the slot 11 is in the form of an arc of a circle and its ends are at the level of the line of perforations 3. According to the alternative embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the slot 12 has the form of a broken line, the ends of which are also arranged at the level of the line of perforations 3. According to a preferred but not exclusive form, the perforations are interrupted between the ends of the slot in line with the latter.

It will be noted that for the production of the capsule according to the invention, the usual machines and tools are used for the production of a capsule, the matrix being simply shaped to produce a slot in accordance with the definition of the invention.

During the fitting of the capsule, while it descends on the neck of the bottle, the metal tab delimited at its upper part by the curve whose concavity is directed down allows, because of its shape and this, even if the eyelet of the twisted loop of the wire is not perfectly centered, to easily lower the capsule along the eyelet, without providing resistance and without risk of tearing of the capsule. The metal tab has, in addition, the advantage of covering the twist or lower part of the wire loop and thus hiding the glass of the bottle, unlike the embodiments of the prior art. Note also that for proper use of the capsu According to the invention, it is necessary to provide an alignment of the slot with the loop of the wire cup when the capsule is placed on the bottle. Such alignment will be obtained by the usual methods of aligning the capsule on the bottle.

In Figures 2 to 4, there is shown a capsule having no grooves. It will be noted that the present invention does not preclude the production of capsules comprising grooves 6 as shown in FIG. 1. In this case, in order to facilitate guiding the capsule on the loop of the wire cap, provision may be made not to forming grooves on the tab delimited by curve 11 or curve 12 which is not wavy as shown in FIG. 5. In addition, with the aim of further facilitating the passage of the twisted loop of the wire through the slot, we can provide a zone 13 as shown in Figure 5 adjacent to the slot 11 and disposed above it and having no grooves or even formed in a slight flat. Such a zone accentuates the opening effect at the level of the slot 11 and ensures easier passage of the loop of the wire through the slot.

In Figure 5 the line of perforations has not been shown. Indeed, by using a capsule according to the present invention, the loop of the muselet is very easily accessible and once it has been untwisted, it is possible to tear the capsule simply by spreading the lower wire of the muselet with one hand while the other hand imitates the lower part of the capsule on the bottle, thus causing an easy tearing of the capsule even in the absence of a line of perforations. Similarly, it will be noted that the ends of the slot 11 or 12 can stop at a level slightly higher than the line of perforations when the latter is formed on the capsule, the connection between the ends of the slot and the line of perforations being ruptured when the bottle is opened, when the wire loop is untwisted and folded down to release the wire from the bottle ring.

All these alternative embodiments can be obtained by corresponding modification of the cutting or forming die of the capsule.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments which have just been described, it is on the contrary liable to variants and modifications which will appear to those skilled in the art.

Claims (8)

1 - Capsule for overcapping bottles with a wire cap, this capsule comprising a slot for the passage of the wire loop when the capsule is placed on the bottle, characterized in that the slot is made according to a curve whose concavity is turned towards the bottom of the capsule. 2 - Capsule according to claim 1, characterized in that the slot has the shape of an arc of a circle. 3 - Capsule according to claim 1, characterized in that the slot has the shape of a broken line. 4 - Capsule according to any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising a line of perforations intended to come at the level of the ring of the bottle during the positioning of the capsule, characterized in that the perforations are interrupted at plumb with the slit. 5 - Capsule according to claim 4, characterized in that the ends of the slot are at the line of perforations. 6 - Capsule according to any one of claims 1 to 5, comprising grooves on its upper part, characterized in that the grooves are interrupted over the entire surface of the tab delimited by the slot. 7 - Capsule according to any one of claims 1 to 6, comprising grooves on its upper part, characterized in that the grooves are interrupted on a surface adjacent to the slot above the latter. 8 - Capsule according to claim 7, characterized in that the surface without grooves adjacent to the slot is formed in a flat.

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