EP0777605A1

EP0777605A1 - Pump assembly

Info

Publication number: EP0777605A1
Application number: EP95930054A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Gerardus Jan Marie Timmermans
Original assignee: Conservator Bvio
Current assignee: Conservator Bvio
Priority date: 1994-09-05
Filing date: 1995-09-05
Publication date: 1997-06-11
Also published as: CA2199175A1; AU3355995A; NL9401444A; WO1996007590A1

Abstract

A pump assembly comprising a pump member having a piston (2), comprising operating means (3) and a cylinder (1) and a number of caps (20, 40, 70) to be provided on a container, which pump member is adapted to cooperate, via a nozzle (6), with a cap (20) of a first type placed on a container, so as to create an underpressure in the container, the pump member also being adapted to cooperate, via the same nozzle, with a cap (40, 70) of a second type placed on a container, so as to create an overpressure in the container.

Description

Title: Pump assembly.

The invention relates to a pump assembly comprising a pump member and a number of caps to be provided on a container, which comprise a valve member, which pump member is adapted to cooperate with a cap of a first type placed on a container so as to create, via the valve member, an underpressure in the container.

Such a pump assembly, intended to create an underpressure above a rest of wine in a wine bottle so as to enable keeping the wine longer without loss of quality, is known from practice. The known pump assembly comprises a suction pump and a number of vacuum caps capable of being provided in a neck of a bottle, via which vacuum caps the air in the bottle located above the wine can be pumped out by means of the pump.

The known pump assembly does not have so-called pressure caps by means of which an overpressure could be created in a container. Also, the pump of the known pump assembly is not suitable for generating an overpressure in a container.

Pump devices for generating an overpressure in containers containing, for instance, carbonated beverages are known as well. By generating an overpressure in a bottle containing a rest of a carbonated beverage, the beverage will preserve its refreshing characteristics for a longer time. However, the known pump devices for creating an overpressure are not suitable for generating an underpressure. Consequently, a drawback of the known pump assemblies is that two different assemblies are needed if it is desired to keep rests of wine as well as rests of carbonated beverages, such as soft drink. Another drawback is that the use of the known pump assemblies entails the risk that leakage occurs if a bottle on which a vacuum cap or pressure cap has indeed been provided, but wherein no underpressure or overpressure has been created, is kept horizontally.

The object of the invention is to overcome the drawbacks outlined above and in general to provide a pump assembly having a pump member suitable both for creating underpressure and for the creating overpressure, which operates in a reliable manner and is universally applicable.

To this end, according to the invention, a pump assembly of the subject type is characterized in that the pump member is also adapted to cooperate, via the same nozzle, with a cap of a second type placed on a container, in order to create an overpressure in the container.

Hereinafter, the invention will be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings of an exemplary embodiment, wherein:

Fig. 1 schematically shows in longitudinal section an example of a pump member for a pump assembly according to the i en ion*

Fig. 2 schematically shows in vertical section an example of a vacuum cap according to the invention;

Fig. 3 schematically shows in vertical section an example of a pressure cap according to the invention;

Fig. 4 schematically shows in vertical section a second example of a pressure cap according to the invention; Fig. 5 schematically shows a detail of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 schematically shows a detail of Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 schematically illustrates the application of a pump member according to the invention together with a vacuum cap; and

Fig. 8 schematically illustrates the application of a pump member according to the invention together with a pressure cap.

The pump member shown in Fig. l comprises a pump housing forming a cylinder 1, and a piston 2 which is movable forwards and backwards therein in the longitudinal direction and which has an operating member 3 extending outside the cylinder. At its end remote from the operating member 3, the piston comprises a sealing member in the form of an O-ring 5 retained between two circumferential flanges 4, which O-ring 5 forms a seal between the inner wall of the cylinder and the piston. The O-ring 5 is preferably made of self-lubricating material, for instance rubber with 5% molykote.

At its end remote from the operating member 3 of the piston, the cylinder 1 comprises a nozzle 6. The nozzle serves as end stop for the piston and in this example further comprises a chamber 7 into which an extension or nose 8 of the piston extends. The chamber 7 ends in a funnel-shaped part 9 capable of cooperating with a vacuum cap or a pressure cap. The chamber 7 further comprises an internal circumferential groove 10, which can for instance be V-shaped or C-shaped and wherein an O-ring or a similar sealing member 11 is provided. Via a number of chanels 12, the circumferential groove communicates with the space on the outside of the funnel-shaped part 9. Normally, and at any rate during a delivery stroke of the pump, the channels 12 are sealed by the O-ring sitting in the groove 10. For this purpose, the O-ring can optionally be mounted with some outwardly directed prestress. However, during a suction stroke, if the pump is placed on a pressure cap, the O-ring can be drawn inwards slightly, so that the channels 12 are released and ambient air is capable of flowing toward the cylinder. Hence, the O-ring functions as a suction valve.

The nozzle 6 further comprises a sleeve 13, extending at a distance around the funnel-shaped part 9. The channels 12 terminate inside the sleeve 13. As will be further described hereinafter, the sleeve can sealingly cooperate with a vacuum cap, and accordingly functions as a pressure valve.

The pump housing, the piston, the nozzle and the operating member can be manufactured from a suitable plastic, for instance ABS, for instance by means of an injection molding process.

Through glueing, welding, screwing, snapping or the like, the nozzle and the operating member can be connected with the pump housing and the piston respectively. The sleeve is manufactured from flexible material, as are of course the 0-rings. Fig. 2 schematically shows in cross-section a vacuum cap 20. The vacuum cap shown comprises a tubular part 21, having a shell 22 of flexible material. The tubular part with the shell can be provided in a bottle as a stopper or cork. For this purpose, the shell is in this example provided with circumferential ribs 23. The tubular part 21 connects to a wider part 24, which, in the operating condition, projects above the container and forms an open chamber 25. Mounted in the chamber 25 is an approximately hourglass-shaped insert 26, provided with a central opening 27 and otherwise sealing the chamber 25. The opening 27 serves to receive the funnel-shaped part of the nozzle of the pump in a non-sealing manner, and communicates, via a bore 28, with a chamber 29 formed between the insert and the bottom of the chamber 25.

Via a central opening 30, the chamber 29 communicates with the interior of the tubular part 21 and accordingly with the interior of a bottle to be treated, if the vacuum cap has been provided on a bottle. Located in the chamber 29 is a mushroom- shaped valve 31 made of supple yet firm material. For clarity's sake, the mushroom-shaped valve 31 is shown again separately in Fig. 5. The valve shown comprises a shaft 32, a hat 33 and a conical enlarged portion 34 located under the hat. Further, the shaft continues above the hat by an extension 35. The hat is concave at its lower side, as is shown in Fig. 2. In the rest position, the edge of the hat is sealingly supported on the bottom of the chamber 29, while the conical enlarged portion forms a seal at the lower side of the bore 30. Hence, the interior of the tubular part 21 is sealed relative to the chamber 29 by the conical enlarged portion 34.

The extension 35 extends into the opening 27 of the insert 26 and does so to such an extent that the extension can be pushed back slightly by the nozzle of a pump member according to the invention, as soon as it is placed on the vacuum cap.

Fig. 3 schematically shows in vertical section an example of a pressure cap 40 according to the invention. The pressure cap shown has, in section, the shape of an inverted U and is in this example provided with internal screw thread 41, so that the cap can be firmly screwed on a bottle and there is no risk of the cap popping from the bottle when the pressure above the liquid in the bottle is increased. By providing an increased pressure above a rest of a gaseous beverage, for instance carbonated soft drink, the quality of the beverage is longer preserved. The upper side of the pressure cap has a recessed part 42, capable of receiving the f nnel-shaped part of the pump member shown in Fig. 1. The recessed part 42 is U-shaped in section and has an opening 44 in its bottom 43, which opening forms a connection with the interior of the cap and accordingly with the interior of the bottle or the like on which the cap is fitted. Further provided in the cap is a ha -shaped elastic valve member 45, which, for clarity's sake, is shown separately in top plan view and in section in Fig. 6. The valve member has an annular edge 46 which, in mounted condition, lies against the inside of the top wall of the cap around the recessed part. The edge serves as a sealing member relative to the upper edge of a bottle on which the pressure cap has been provided and further serves as a fastening member for the rest of the valve member. The valve member comprises a cylindrical part 47 lying around the recessed part of the cap and a bottom 48 lying against the end of the recessed part. If desired, the cylindrical part can be provided with internal vertical ribs to secure a proper centering. The bottom 48 forms a seal between the opening 44 and the interior of the cap. If desired, the bottom can comprise a projection having the shape of a segment of a sphere and lying against the opening or even partly extending into the opening, which projection, however, is not shown in Fig. 3.

Provided radial-symmetrically in the bottom, adjacent the cylindrical part of the bottom, are a number of openings 49. The openings 49 are capable of passing air if, by an increased pressure in the recess 42, the bottom 48 comes loose slightly from the bottom of the recess and thus releases the opening 44.

In the example shown, a number of openings 50 have also been provided between the annular edge 46 and the cylindrical part of the valve member. The openings 50 promote a smooth action of the valve member, but may also be omitted in the case of a suitable choice of material.

The operation of the pump assembly described hitherto is as follows. When the pump of Fig. l is placed on a vacuum cap 20, provided on a bottle, as shown in Fig. 7, the free end of the funnel-shaped spout 9 of the nozzle of the pump presses precisely on the projection 35 of the mushroom-shaped valve member 31. As a result, the shaft 32 of the mushroom-shaped valve is pressed downwards and space is created between the conical enlarged portion 34 of the shaft and the edge of the bore 30 in the bottom wall of the chamber 29. However, the edge of the hat 33 still forms a seal since this edge lies against the bottom of the chamber. When the piston 2 of the pump is pressed into the cylinder, an overpressure is formed in the chamber 29 above the hat 33, pressing the edge of the hat onto the bottom of the chamber even more firmly. Via the space between the spout 9 of the pump and the connecting piece 26, the overpressure is transmittted into the space enclosed by the sleeve 13. The sleeve fittingly encloses the part 24 of the vacuum cap, but may slightly expand in the case of internal overpressure, allowing air to escape outwards.

If the piston 2 is then moved upwards, an underpressure is created in the space above the hat of the mushroom-shaped valve and in the space enclosed by the sleeve. The sleeve is thereby firmly drawn against the outside of the vacuum cap and forms a seal. However, the edge of the hat of the mushroom-shaped valve is sufficiently supple to be pulled loose from the bottom of the chamber 29 by the underpressure developed, so that air is drawn from the bottle 60 via the bore 30. At the next downstroke of the piston of the pump, the mushroom valve closes the passage to the bore 30 again and the air fed escapes via the sleeve, etcetera, without any modification, the pump can be placed on a pressure cap 40 provided on a container, as is shown in Fig. 8. The central recess 42 in the pressure cap is so shaped that the edge of the sleeve 13 of the pump cannot fall around the pressure cap in a sealing manner. For safety's sake, at least adjacent its upper side, the shell of the pressure cap can be provided with vertical grooves or the like, so that the sleeve cannot sealingly cooperate with the pressure cap whatsoever.

If the piston 2 of the pump is pulled upwards by means of the operating member 3, the pump draws in air. The air can flow into the pump cylinder via the space between the sleeve and the pressure cap and then via the air channels 12 along the O-ring 11 or the like. The O-ring is drawn inwards slightly by the underpressure generated, so that the air channels 12 are released. The funnel-shaped part 9 of the nozzle of the pump sealingly fits in the recessed part 42 of the pressure cap.

If the pump piston is then moved in the opposite direction again, the sealing member 11 is forced into the sealing position again, so that the air supplied from the cylinder can leave the pump via the spout 9 only. The overpressure generated in the cylinder and in the spout effects that the bottom 48 of the hat- shaped valve member 45 is pressed downwards, enabling air to flow into the bottle 61 via the opening 44 in the cap and the openings 49 of the valve member. During the return stroke of the piston, the bottom 48 of the valve member seals the opening 44 again.

The foregoing may show that for suction and delivery action the same pump can be used without the pump having to undergo any modifications. It is exclusively the cap used that determines whether the pump will exert a delivery action or a suction action on the interior of the container on which the cap is provided. Because containers filled with carbonated liquid, such as coke bottles and the like, are normally provided with screw thread, whereas wine bottles have no screw thread and hence cannot be provided with a pressure cap according to the invention, the pump assembly according to the invention can be used without any risk of mistakes.

It is observed that after the foregoing various modifications will readily occur to a skilled person. For instance, the mushroom-shaped valve 31 can optionally comprise additional arms that are provided under the hat 33 so as to extend obliquely downwards and that rest against the bottom of the chamber with spring action so as to press the conical portion 34 firmly into the bore 30. By way of example, such arms are shown at 62 in Fig. 7. Further, the hourglass-shaped insert 26 can have its upper side provided with small projections to prevent the flange of the nozzle, which flange extends around the spout 9, from sticking to the upper side of the vacuum cap. The same effect can be achieved by providing the flange of the nozzle with such unevennesses. Likewise, the insert can have its lower side, i.e. the side facing the chamber 29, provided with radial ribs to prevent sticking of the hat 33.

Further, the piston of the pump could be provided with a nose extending into the spout 9 so as to reduce the dead volume of the pump, as is indicated in Fig. 8 by broken lines at 63.

It is furt.ier observed that the pump assembly described and shown has been designed for use with bottles. In principle, the use with differently shaped containers, such as pots and the like, wherein an under- or overpressure is to be created, is of course also possible if the caps shown are adapted to the sealing members necessary for the relevant containers. This only influences the external shape of the vacuum and pressure caps, and not the internal design and hence not the operation. Such modifications are considered to fall within the purview of the invention.

An example of an altnerative pressure cap suitable for bottles which have no screw thread but which do contain carbonated or sparkling beverages, such as for instance champagne bottles, is shown in Fig. 4. The cap 70 shown in Fig. 4 has a shell 72 fitting around the neck 71 of a bottle and a top wall 73. The shell has a number of slots 74 and a number of resilient arms 75 which, behind the slots, extend downwards from the top wall. Lying around the shell is a ring 76 having projections 77 extending inwards through the slots. The ring can be moved up and down along the shell. The figure shows the ring in the lowest or locking position, wherein the ring pushes the arms 75 against the neck of a bottle. Normally, the neck of a bottle has a recess precisely below the edge and the arms have corresponding projections 78, engaging with the recess, so that the cap is firmly secured on the bottle if the ring is in the locking position, but can be removed from the bottle if the ring is slid towards the top wall of the cap.

The top wall is again provided with a central recess 79, wherein the spout 9 of a pump member according to the invention can be inserted. As is the case with the pressure cap 40, the sleeve 13 is not sealingly connected to the cap 70 if the spout 9 is inserted into the recess 79. Consequently, the pump can draw in air via the sleeve and the air channels 12 when the piston is moved upwards.

The cap 70 comprises a valve member 80 which is H-shaped in vertical section and whose upper part is fixedly mounted in the cap and which otherwise extends into the bottle, in the operating condition. The lower part of the valve member is made of relatively soft, supple material. The valve member comprises an upper cylindrical part 81, enclosing an upper chamber 82, and a lower cylindrical part 84, separated from the upper part by a transverse partition 83, which lower cylindrical part comprises a lower chamber 85. Provided precisely above the transverse partition are a number of channels 86. The channels 86 extend transversely through the wall of the upper part and connect the chamber 82 to one or more chambers, which may for instance have the shape of an annular groove 87, formed around the valve member at the location of the transverse partition.

If the piston of the pump, whose spout 9 is placed in the recess 9, is moved downwards, an overpressure is created in the chamber 82. Via the channels 86, the air in the chamber 82 will reach the annular space 87 and then, along the lower part 84 of the valve member, reach the interior of the bottle. Being made of soft, supple material, the lower cylindrical part will slightly recede from the bottle wall. In this manner, an overpressure can be created in the bottle. Because of the overpressure prevailing in the bottle, which of course also prevails in the chamber 85, the lower cylindrical part is firmly pressed against the bottle wall, bringing about a proper sealing. Consequently, the pressure cap shown can also be employed as a replacement for the conventional champagne cork, even if one does not wish to use the possibility of creating an overpressure after the champagne has partly been finished. An advantage over the conventional champagne cork is that the cap according to the invention can readily be removed and fitted again by sliding the ring 76.

It is observed that a pump member according to the invention could also be included in an automized system, for instance for professional applications. In that case, after a container provided with a cap according to the invention has been pushed against the nozzle of the pump member, and after automatic or hand-operated switching-on, the system should put the pump member in action. The type of cap automatically determines whether overpressure or underpressure is to be created. The system could be adapted to perform a predetermined number of strokes or to detect the counterforce and, as soon as the counterforce detected exceeds a predetermined value, switch off for instance the electric drive means for the pump member. A combination of the two possibilities is also conceivable, wherein the switching off on the basis of the counterforce could serve as an extra security.

These and similar modifications are considered to fall within the purview of the invention.

Claims

1. A pump assembly comprising a pump member having a piston, comprising operating means and a cylinder and a number of caps to be provided on a container, said pump member being adapted to cooperate, via a nozzle, with a cap of a first type placed on a container, so as to create an underpressure in the container, characterized in that the pump member is also adapted to cooperate, via the same nozzle, with a cap of a second type placed on a container, so as to create an overpressure in the container.

2. A pump assembly according to claim l, characterized in that a cap of the first type comprises a first part which, in operation, sealingly extends into a container opening, and a second part which connects to the pump member, a first valve member, made of flexible material and having two sealing means, being mounted between the first part and the second part, and the second part and a nozzle of the pump member cooperating therewith being shaped so that the nozzle slightly depresses the valve member, whereby one of the sealing means of the valve member reaches the open position, and the second sealing means being adapted to open in the case of underpressure in the second part.

3. A pump assembly according to claim l or 2, characterized in that a cap of the second type is provided with means for fitting the cap over a nozzle of a container and with a receiving portion for receiving a funnel-shaped part of the nozzle of a pump member and with a second valve member provided under the receiving portion and made of elastic material, which, in rest, is in its closed position, but which opens in the case of increased pressure in the receiving portion.

4. A pump assembly according to claim l, 2 or 3, characterized in that the pump member comprises an elastic sleeve sealingly provided at a distance around a funnel-shaped part of the nozzle, said sleeve, in the operating condition, elastically enclosing the second part of a cap of the first type at least partly, so that in the case of underpressure within the sleeve, the sleeve forms a seal around the second part, but in the case of overpressure within the sleeve, the sleeve can recede outwards relative to the second part, while during cooperation of the pump member with a cap of the second type, the sleeve leaves clear an open communication with the environment.

5. A pump assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that both the caps of the first type and the caps of the second type are provided with a central recess for receiving the funnel-shaped part of the nozzle of a pump member.

6. A pump assembly according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the nozzle of the pump member comprises an annular chamber having an annular sealing member and communicating, via a nu-riuer of air channels, with the space between the sleeve and the funnel-shaped part of the nozzle, the sealing member in the case of overpressure in the pump member closing the air channels and in the case of underpressure in the pump member releasing the air channels at least partly.

7. A pump assembly according to any one of claims 3-6, characterized in that the means for fitting a cap of the second type over a nozzle of a container comprise an internal screw thread provided in a shell of the cap.

8. A pump assembly according to any one of claims 3-6, characterized in that the means for fitting a cap of the second type over a nozzle of a container comprise a number of depending, resilient arms forming part of a shell of the cap, and a ring slidable up and down along the shell and capable of fixing the arms in a position firmly embracing the nozzle of the container.

9. A pump assembly according to any one of claims 2-8, characterized in that a cap of the first type comprises an insert placed in the second part, said insert comprising at its upper side a receiving opening for a funnel-shaped part of the nozzle of a pump member, said receiving opening communicating with a chamber located at the lower side under the insert between the first part and the insert, said chamber being closed at its lower side by a top wall of the first part, a central bore being provided in the top wall of the first part, through which bore the shank of a mushroom-shaped valve member extends, the hat of the valve member being located in the chamber and sealingly resting, by its edge, on the top wall of the first part, while the shank has an enlarged portion located under the top wall of the first part, said enlarged portion sealingly cooperating with the central bore.

10. A pump assembly according to any one of claims 3-9, characterized in that the second valve member is a valve member which has the shape of an inverted hat and lies around the receiving portion for the funnel-shaped part of a nozzle of a pump member and whose bottom seals a central opening in the receiving portion, but is capable of releasing said central opening under overpressure in the receiving portion, and the hat- shaped valve member being provided, at a radial distance from the part sealing the central opening, with a number of passages.

11. A pump assembly according to claim 10, characterized in that the hat-shaped valve member has an annular edge serving in the operating condition as a seal relative to the edge of the nozzle of a container.

12. A pump assembly according to any one of claims 3-9, characterized in that the second valve member comprises two cylindrical parts separated by a transverse partition, said cylindrical parts, in operation, extending into the nozzle of a container, at least the lower cylindrical part being manufactured from soft, supple material and one or more chambers being located on the outside of the valve member at the level of the transverse transition, said chamber communicating, via openings just above the transverse transition, with the interior of the first cylindrical part and, in the case of overpressure in the first cylindrical part, further communicating with the interior of the container because the lower cylindrical part recedes inwards.

13. A pump assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by drive means for automatically driving the pump member.

14. A pump assembly according to claim 13, characterized by automatic switching-off means for the drive means.

15. A pump assembly according to claim 14, characterized by means for counting the number of pumping strokes and for energizing the switching-off means when a predetermined number is reached.

16. A pump assembly according to claim 14 or 15, characterized by detection means which detect counterforce experienced during pumping and energize the switching-off means when a predetermined value is reached.

17. A pump member for use in a pump assembly according to any one of the preceding claims.

18. A cap of the first or second type for use in a pump assembly according to any one of claims 1-16 or for cooperation with a pump member according to claim 17.