ES2381294T3 - Bottle closure with two pieces of mutual lace that fit into each other - Google Patents

Abstract

Bottle closure (100) for bottles (7) containing high pressure liquids, the closure (100) having a first piece (109) and a second piece (105), the first part (109) having a part (13) adapted to accommodate a part of an upper section of a neck of the bottle (7), and a second piece (105) that substantially fits over the first piece (109), which can move relatively with respect to the first piece (109 ) and has at least two positions, a first of which is in a free position whereby the second piece (105) does not push against the first piece (109) and a second of which is in a position of mutual engagement by which a part (32) of the second piece (105) pushes against a part (28) of the first piece (109) that houses the upper section of the neck of the bottle (7) so that it engages with an outer side of the first piece (109) to hold it in this way to resist release from its position d e mutual fit with respect to said neck of the bottle (7), characterized in that the second piece (105) includes a lower section (107) suitable to engage with a mutual fit that fits with a solidarity collar extending outwards ( 22) on a bottleneck (7).

Description

Bottle closure with two pieces of mutual lace that fit into each other

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a closure for a bottle according to the preamble of claim 1.

In particular, the invention relates to a closure suitable for closing bottles containing carbonated beverages.

or that have high levels of dissolved gas.

Description of the prior art

There are two main types of wine drinks. The first is commonly referred to as "non-carbonated" or "without gas." This is the wine that does not contain a load of carbon dioxide (CO2) dissolved in the liquid. The second type of wine is "carbonated" because it has CO2 dissolved in the liquid, or some other food grade gas, the most common being, however, CO2. An example of a carbonated wine is sparkling wine, in which CO2 is added during secondary fermentation processes.

For one or the other type of wine, a cork closure is traditionally used to seal the bottle, although there are several alternatives to cork closures that include screw cap closures and synthetic cork refills. More recently there have been advances in wine closures such as those disclosed in WO04058586A1, which describes a way of sealing a wine bottle containing a non-carbonated wine. In fact, the wine bottle closure of WO04058586A1 addresses several common problems associated with the use of conventional cork closures such as cork contamination, as a result of trichloroanisole (TCA) filtration in wine as well as general degradation. of cork closures that are not kept in the right conditions.

The most common way in which sparkling wine bottles are closed is with a cork and a retention wire cage called "morrion". The wire cage covers the cork and hugs the bottom of the bottle collar and is held in place by tightening the wire. In use, the wire cage is loosened first and then removed from the cork and then the cork is either removed with the help of a corkscrew or jaw or gently removed by hand. Without holding the cork through the wire cage, the pressure generated inside the bottle by the release of CO2 from the wine can result in the rapid expulsion of the cork.

In fact, the rapid expulsion of sparkling wine corks is responsible for 20% of registered eye injuries caused by bottles containing pressurized beverages in the United States. A 750 ml sparkling wine bottle contains approximately 4 liters of CO2 at a pressure of 620 kPa, which can propel a cork from 30 g to 13 m. As a result, sparkling wine bottles in the US now they carry labels that warn of possible eye injuries.

Apart from possible eye injuries, cork closures in sparkling wine bottles may experience the same problems as cork closure of wine without gas. This includes the significant problem of cork contamination as a result of TCA filtration from cork to sparkling wine that affects taste.

In addition, there is the transmission of gas through or through the closure; which results in the loss of CO2 so the sparkling wine runs out of gas. Approximately 5-10% of sparkling wines end up like this.

Therefore, this becomes a major quality problem for sparkling wine producers, since the introduction of TCA into the product and the loss of bubbles result in the wine being unacceptable, and in severe cases crop ruin whole

Wine bottle closures, such as those of WO04058586A1, do not experience cork contamination and also provide a way to close a conventional wine bottle that has a collar at the top of the bottle. However, such closures are not suitable as a closure for bottles containing carbonated beverages, since they do not have the mechanical strength to maintain an acceptable grip on the pressurized collar.

Plastic corks have been used; However, these types of closures do not solve the security problem, are associated with inferior products and are generally not accepted.

The screw cap and crown seal seals have also been used to close sparkling wine bottles, but again the problem is that there is an association of such closures with cheaper products such as soft drinks, and as such, no they have accepted in a generalized way by the consuming public.

In addition, when using a cork closure there is the problem of how to reseal the bottle once opened. Most often a specialized cap is used to securely close the bottle, since the closure of

Original cork is very difficult to reinsert.

WO9404424 discloses a closure device for a container, which has an inner cap and an outer cap that substantially fits over the inner cap, which can move relatively relative to the inner cap and has at least two positions, a first of which it is in a free position and a second position of which is in a position of mutual engagement whereby a part of the outer cap pushes against a part of the inner cap that houses the upper section of the neck of the container thereby resisting the release of their position of mutual fit with respect to the neck of the container.

Object of the invention

The term "collar" as used herein refers to the ring of material that is placed around the neck of the bottle near the base of the cap. This is often called the “CETIE” band (Center Technique International de l’Embouteillage et du Coditionnement).

The term "auction" as used herein refers to the upper section of the bottle attached to the neck.

An object of the present invention is to provide a closure for bottles containing carbonated beverages that is an alternative to cork closures.

Another object of the invention is to provide a closure for bottles containing carbonated beverages that is attached to the collar of a conventional bottle.

An object of the present invention is to overcome, or at least substantially improve, the disadvantages and disadvantages of the prior art, which include, but are not limited to safety, oxidation, contamination, extraction, gas loss and ability to reseal .

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which, by way of illustration and example, an embodiment of the present invention is disclosed.

Summary of the invention

According to the present invention, although this should not be limiting of the invention in any way, a bottle closure is provided for bottles containing high pressure liquids, the closure having a first piece and a second piece, the first part housing the section upper of the neck of the bottle so that it engages with an outer side of said first piece to hold it in this way to resist release from its position of mutual engagement with respect to said neck of a conventional industry bottle, further characterized because the second piece includes a lower section that is coupled with a fit of mutual fit to a solidarity collar that extends outward on a neck of the bottle.

Preferably, the first piece includes a body that has an outer shell that snaps onto and engages with a mutual fitting fit to a solidarity collar that extends outwardly at a neck of the bottle.

Preferably, the first piece has a section of the outermost periphery formed to engage with an inner part of the second piece.

Preferably, the second piece includes a cap adapted to fit over at least a substantial part of the body of the first piece, the cap engaging with the outer shell in a first holding position to provide a compressive force against an outer surface of the shell outside to tighten the outer shell to the bottle.

Preferably, there is at least a first seal that is to be held by compression against the uppermost flange of the bottleneck.

Preferably, the second piece further includes a lower shell section.

Preferably, the outer shell further includes an upper shell section and a lower shell section.

Preferably, the lower shell section extends over the collar integral to the neck of the bottle.

Preferably, the lower wrap section has an inwardly directed lip that affects the fit of mutual fit with a bottom edge of the collar integral with the bottle.

Preferably, the lower shell section is joined to the upper shell section by a weakened area.

Preferably, the lower shell section is a tear strip.

Preferably, the upper wrap section has an inwardly directed lip that affects a mutual fit fit with a bottom edge of a shoulder flange at the mouth of the bottle.

Preferably, the upper shell section has at least a first groove in its outer surface shaped to engage a flange located on an inner surface of the plug.

Preferably, the upper shell section has a second groove in its outer surface shaped to engage with a flange located on an inner surface of the plug, the second groove being located above the first groove to provide a second holding position.

Preferably, the second slot is located in the body.

Preferably, when it is in the second clamping position, the cap no longer provides a compressive force against the outer surface of the outer shell.

Therefore, the plug has at least two positions, the first being an open or free position that does not provide any compression force against the first piece (the outer shell) and the second position being the position of mutual or closed fitting in which The cap does apply a force to the first piece so that it fits with the bottle.

Preferably, there is a second seal located between the first seal and the body.

Preferably, the first seal has a central part that extends substantially into the mouth of the bottle.

Preferably, the central part has at least one longitudinal groove that extends along an elongation direction of the central part so as to allow fluid communication (purging the gas under pressure) between the inside of the bottle and the outside of the bottle during the extraction of the central part, of the neck of the bottle.

Preferably, the at least one longitudinal groove has a first end and a second end, the first end terminating at least substantially halfway along the direction of elongation of the central part.

Brief description of the drawings

By way of example, one use of the invention is described more fully with reference to the drawings Attachments, in which: Figure 1 is a front elevation view of the invention according to the first embodiment. Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of the bottle closure of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the bottle closure of Figure 2. Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of the bottle closure of Figure 2, in a closed position, in a bottle.

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of an alternative embodiment of the bottle closure of the invention. Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of the bottle closure of Figure 5. Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view of the bottle closure in a bottle. Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view of the bottle closure in an open position. Figure 9 is a cross-sectional view of the bottle closure removed from the bottle. Figure 10 is a view that partially shows the interior of an alternative embodiment of the invention. Figure 11 is a side view of the first piece of the invention as shown in Figure 10, without the

Second piece in place.

Detailed description of the invention

Figure 1 shows the bottle closure 5 inserted in a bottle 7 in an unopened position. The bottle 7 is of a type that has a mouth that is to be closed and also includes a flange around the outer face of the neck end. Such neck finishes are widely known to those skilled in the art and the figures in this application clearly show a typical neck auction of this type.

The bottle closure 5 has a first piece with a body 9 with a part that projects downwards. The part that projects downwards has an upper section 13 and a lower section 15, the upper section 13 being

internally shaped to fit in combination with the outer shape of the flange 19 of the bottle 7. The flange 19 is mainly used for a hermetic crown seal to engage to seal the bottle during the primary fermentation phase of sparkling wine. After the primary fermentation phase, conventional cork closures do not use the flange 19. The lower section 15 is shaped to fit in combination with the collar 22 of the bottle 5, which is normally used to fix the wire cage or morrion covering the cork closure.

The body 9 has an upper groove 17 and a lower groove 26, both located around the periphery of the body 9 and are substantially parallel to each other. It could obviously be understood that it may not be necessary for the slots 17 and 26 to move completely around the periphery for the closure of the bottle 5 to function fully.

The upper section 13 has an inwardly directed lip 28 and an adjacent inner face which, in combination, are fixedly engaged with the flange 19. The longitudinal openings 78 extend from the circumferential groove to just above the weakened area 40 so that when the lower section 15 is removed, the individual segments 82 are released, which will still be attached to the body 9.

The lower section 15 is attached to the upper section 13 by a weakened zone 40. In addition, the lower section 15 has a spirally weakened zone 42 that converges with the weakened zone 40 which allows the lower section 15 to be breakable because the user pulls of it and breaks it when opening. The lower section 15 has an inwardly directed lip shaped to abut the lower face 46 of the collar 22 and provides a fixed grip on it. The inner face 48 of the lower section 15 then presses against the outer face 50 of the neck 52 of the bottle 7.

The closure 5 also has a second piece or part of cap 24, which has an inner cavity 34 designed to fixedly house the body 9 inside. The plug portion 24 further has a shoulder or rib 32 integral with the inner chamber 34 and shaped to be at least substantially complementary to the shape of the upper and lower grooves 17 and 26 respectively so that the rib 32 can fit within the grooves 17 and 26 so that it can be released such as to restrict the sliding displacement of the plug part up between the two grooves 17 and 26. Around the outer surface of the plug part 24 there is a series of ribs 38 that help improve the ability of users to grasp the cap portion 24 by hand.

Located inside the body cavity 9 there is a plunger part 56 having a circumferential flange 58 that is shaped around its periphery to overlap with the upper face 60 of the flange 19 so that the concave part of the flange 58 comes into contact Direct continuous with the upper face 60. The piston part 56 is constructed from a food grade plastic material, since it will come into direct contact with the contents of the bottle.

The outer diameter 64 of the surface 66 is slightly larger than the inner diameter of the inside of the neck of the bottle to ensure a perfect fit. This then provides an exceptional barrier to any liquid or gas leakage from the inside of the bottle to the outside when the plunger portion 56 is in place. However, there is also an additional sealing mechanism that is a metal foil seal 70 located between the plunger portion 56 and the body 9. This provides a very effective seal against any gas transmission between the contents of the bottle and the outside environment. Those skilled in the art know such tight joints widely.

Additionally, the plunger part 56 has longitudinal grooves 72 therein, which extend upwardly from the base 74. These grooves allow a slight controlled gas outlet from the inside of the bottle during the extraction of the plunger hole in 56 of the neck Of the bottle. Reinforcement segments help reinforce the sides of the plunger part 56. The base 74 is slightly convex.

The cap portion 24 and the body 9 are preferably made of an elastic plastic material that has an intrinsic force sufficient to not substantially deform. The plunger part 56, however, is preferably constructed from a more deformable plastic material than the cap part 24 and the body 9, since it is required to adapt to the shape of the inner surface 84 of the neck 52 of the bottle 7.

Figure 4 shows the bottle closure 5 in a closed position inserted in a bottle 7. The cap portion 24 is pushed into a holding position so that the solidarity rib 32 is placed inside the lower groove 26 and provides a force directed inwards against the upper section 13 of the body 9 to drive the lip directed inwards 28 upward against the lower face 61 of the flange 19.

This, in combination with the inwardly directed force of the lower section 15 that pushes the inwardly directed lip against the lower face 46 of the collar 22 and the inner surface 48 against the outer face 50 of the bottleneck 52 provides sufficient force for keep the bottle closure 5 in place against the internal pressure that can develop inside a sparkling wine bottle.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention, there is a closure 100, with a first piece having a body 109 and a second piece that is the plug part 105.

The stopper portion 105 has a lower section 107 that is attached to the stopper portion 105 by a weakened zone 110. In addition, the lower section 107 has a spirally weakened area 112 that converges with the weakened zone 110 that allows the section lower 107 is breakable because the user pulls it and breaks it when opening. The lower section 107 has an inwardly directed lip 115 shaped to abut the lower face 46 of the collar 22 and provides a fixed grip on it. The inner face 117 of the lower section 107 then presses against the outer face 50 of the neck 52 of the bottle 7, as shown in Figure 7.

Note that the effect is the same as with the closure 5, the main difference being that the lower section 107 is attached to the plug 105 and not to the first body part 109.

The removal of either the closure 5 or the 100 requires similar steps, and although the following description refers to the removal of the lower section 15 of the closure 5, once the lower section 15 or the 107 is removed , the result is similar.

For the removal of the closure 5, a user first removes the lower section 15 by grasping the cap portion 24 in the ribs 38 and removing the lower section 15 by grasping the tongue 86 and pulling outward. This results in the lower section breaking first in the weakened zone 42, then in the weakened zone 40 that joins the lower section 15 to the upper section 13.

The lower section 13 then no longer restricts the segments 82 of the upper section 13. The user then pulls the cap portion 24 upwards to disengage the integral rib 32 of the lower slot 26 and then attach the upper slot 17. This it is then the open position, and the segments 82 can now move freely around their hinge sections 90 and release their fastening to the flange 19 and the collar 22 of the bottle 7 as shown in Figure 8.

During removal of the bottle closure 5, the piston portion 56 is also removed and any excess gas pressure present in the neck of the bottle is allowed to purge 88 through the longitudinal grooves 72 to the outside atmosphere. The purge amount is only light, so that at the final extraction of the plunger part 56 under normal conditions there is still sufficient gas pressure to create a detectable "pop" sound closely associated with the opening of sparkling wine bottles. Obviously, it is also possible for a user to choose to purge all excess gas in the bottleneck if the user were to hold the bottle closure in the position shown in Figure 6 for a long period. In fact, this may be preferable so that there is a gradual release of pressure that minimizes the loss of gas from the liquid.

In any case, causing the user to slide the cap portion 24 from a first closed position to a second open position before the bottle closure 5 can be removed significantly increases the safety of such a closure since at all times the User will control the bottle closure 5.

If the bottle was not cold enough, then there may be a dangerously high gas pressure in the neck of the bottle, but as the user will have to uncouple the cap part before removing the bottle closure by gripping the cap part 24 then there is less chance that the bottle closure will be ejected uncontrollably from the bottle.

In addition, the bottle closure 5 can be used to effectively reseal the bottle by reinserting the plunger part 56 into the inside of the bottle mouth and pushing the cap portion 24 down so that the rib 32 in solidarity, it disengages from the upper groove and slides down to engage the lower groove 26. This action then forces the segments 82 to re-engage the flange 19 of the bottle 7, to hold the bottle closure 5 in a fixed manner. your site The seal provided by the plunger part 56 against the inside of the neck 52 is sufficient to stop the escape of any liquid contents from the bottle.

In still a further embodiment of the invention, as shown in Figure 10, the bottle closure 200 has a first part 202 and a second part 205.

The first piece 202 has a body 207 and a piston part 209, which can be integral with the body 207. The upper section 210 of the body 207 has an outer shell with an inwardly directed lip 212 that can be engaged or pushed up against the bottom face 61 of the flange 19 of the bottle.

The second part 205 is located around the inner periphery 213, a series of projections 214 that are shaped to fit inside and align with the lower section 216 of the slot 215 of the first piece 202. The slot 215 is shaped so that in a first position, the second part 205 pushes against the coupling elements 218, and when a user twists the second part 205, the projection 214 is guided to the upper section 217 of the groove 216 thus forcing the second part away from the elements coupling

218. The closure 200 can then be easily removed from the bottle 7.

The projection 220 in the slots 215 provides a positive tactile sensation to inform the user that the second part 205 has been rotated to the appropriate position.

The function of the lower section of the second part 205 is to couple the collar 2 according to the previous examples.

Although the invention has been shown and described herein in what is considered the preferred and most practical embodiment, it is recognized that deviations may be made within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims (10)

1. Bottle closure (100) for bottles (7) containing high pressure liquids, the closure (100) having a first piece (109) and a second piece (105), the first part (109) having a part ( 13) adapted to accommodate a part of an upper section of a neck of the bottle (7), and a second piece (105) that 5 fits substantially on the first piece (109), which can move relatively with respect to the first piece (109) and has at least two positions, a first of which is in a free position whereby the second piece (105 ) does not push against the first piece (109) and a second one of which is in a position of mutual engagement whereby a part (32) of the second piece (105) pushes against a part (28) of the first piece ( 109) which houses the upper section of the bottleneck 10 (7) so that it engages with an outer side of the first piece (109) to hold it in this way to resist release from its position of mutual engagement with respect to said bottle neck (7), characterized in that The second piece (105) includes a lower section (107) suitable for engaging with a mutual fitting that fits with a solidarity collar that extends outwardly (22) on a neck of the bottle (7). 2. Bottle closure (100) of claim 1, further characterized in that the first piece has a section of the outermost periphery formed to engage with an inner part of the second piece. 3. Bottle closure (100) of claim 1 or 2, further characterized in that the second piece includes a cap adapted to fit over at least a substantial part of the body of the first piece, the cap being coupled with an outer shell of the first piece in a first holding position of 20 so that it provides a compression force against an outer surface of the outer shell of the first piece for tightening the outer shell to the bottle. 4. Bottle closure (100) of any one of claims 1 -3, further characterized in that there is at least a first hermetic seal to be held by compression against the uppermost flange of the bottleneck.

5. Bottle closure (100) of claim 4, further characterized in that the lower section has an inwardly directed lip that affects the fit of mutual fit with a lower edge of the bottle-shaped collar.

6. Bottle closure (100) of claim 5, further characterized in that the lower section is joined to an upper section by a weakened area.

7. Bottle closure (100) of any one of claims 1-6, further characterized in that the lower shell section (107) is a tear strip.

8. Bottle closure (100) of claim 7, further characterized in that the upper section of the first piece has an inwardly directed lip that affects a fit of mutual fit with a lower edge of a shoulder flange in the mouth of the bottle.

A bottle closure (100) of claim 8, further characterized in that the upper section has at least one first groove in its outer surface shaped to engage with a flange located on an inner surface of the second piece.

10. Bottle closure (100) of claim 9, further characterized in that the upper shell section has a second groove in its outer surface shaped to engage with a flange located in 40 an inner surface of the second piece, the second groove being located above the first groove to provide a second holding position. 11. Bottle closure (100) of claim 10 when it depends on claim 3, further characterized in that when it is in the second holding position the cap no longer provides a compressive force against the outer surface of the upper section of the first piece. 12. Bottle closure (100) of any of claims 3 or 4-11 when dependent on claim 3, further characterized in that the cap has at least two positions, the first being an open or free position that does not provide any force compression against the first piece and the second position being the position of mutual or closed fitting in which the cap does apply a force to the first piece so that the first piece fits in with the bottle. 13. Bottle closure (100) of claim 4, further characterized in that there is a second seal located between the first seal and the first piece.

14.

Bottle closure (100) of claim 13, further characterized in that the first seal has a central part that extends substantially into the mouth of the bottle.

fifteen.

Bottle closure (100) of claim 14, further characterized in that the central part has at least

a longitudinal groove that extends along an elongation direction of the central part to allow fluid communication between the inside of the bottle and the outside of the bottle during removal of the central part of the neck of the bottle.

16.

Bottle closure (100) of claim 15, further characterized in that the at least one longitudinal groove has a first end and a second end, the first end terminating at least substantially halfway along the direction of elongation of the part central.