FR2724912A3 - METAL CAPSULE FOR CLOSING BOTTLES. - Google Patents

Abstract

Metal cap (1) for closing bottles comprising a central body (2) for closing an opening (3) present in the neck (4) of the bottle (5) and an outer crown (6) forming a single body with the central body (2) and consisting of a continuous set of teeth (7) which can be deformed and can be blocked on the neck (4) at the level of a thread (8) made on the neck with a number of threads (P ), characterized in that the outer ring (6) comprises a number of teeth (7) different from an integer multiple of the number of threads (P) of the neck (4) of the bottle (5); this number being between twenty-nine and thirty-three teeth (7) (FIG.1).

Description

The present invention relates to a metal capsule for closing

  sealed bottles, and we refer in particular to capsules for closing glass bottles containing

  pressurized food liquids.

  This capsule has been known and used for a long time by bottling companies for the closure of several types of glass bottles, and in particular for bottles containing carbonated drinks, such as beer, Coca-Cola, orangeade, etc. These capsules essentially comprise a circular central body whose surface opposite the opening in the neck of the bottle is provided with the corresponding pressure seal (normally made of synthetic thermoplastic material such as PVC or derivatives of polyethylene, or in natural material such as, for example, cork); on the external part of this body, there is a deformable crown made up of small wavy walls which form a set of teeth intended to make

  the capsule attached to the neck of the bottle.

  It is also known that to open closed bottles using conventional capsules, always use an appropriate instrument such as

example a suitable corkscrew.

  This "drawback" of opening has currently led certain Professionals in the beverage bottling sector to opt for a solution which we can call "hybrid", namely, the use of a screw-on-unscrew closure cap. rotating on the neck of the bottle. In practice, this particular type of capsule (which professionals in the sector call "twist-off") consists of an ordinary 21-tooth capsule which is applied firmly to the edge of the opening of the neck. the bottle, this edge of the neck being characterized by a suitable thread allowing the cap to be unscrewed: the twist-off capsule therefore has a shape essentially equal to that of the ordinary cap, the teeth of which fit into the projections formed by the thread on the outside of

bottle neck.

  The main problem posed by this solution is that of the difficulty of manual opening: in fact, to keep the liquid contained in the bottle under pressure and to avoid

  risk of leaks when handling it

  Ci, this capsule must be fixed securely to the neck of the bottle, and the user must make some effort to obtain the opening rotation of the capsule itself, an effort that not everyone is able to do. ; this operation also involves the risk of injury or cut to the hands due to the architecture of the teeth of the crown which are

sharp edge.

  In this regard, certain types of instruments allowing the user to be able to quickly open the "twist-off" capsule (see also Canadian patent NO 1,252,431) have been produced, but it is obvious that these are also accessories that the user must always have on hand

to be able to unscrew the capsule.

  To this end, the requesting company, after numerous studies and tests, has produced a metal "twist-off" capsule for closing the glass bottle, which allows a simple and easy manual unscrewing of the capsule applied to the neck of the bottle. , while maintaining the standards of security and stability of maintenance unchanged

under pressure from this capsule.

  The technical characteristics of the device of the present invention, according to the above aims, are clearly indicated in the content of the

  claims below, and the advantages thereof

  flow will be even more evident thanks to the

  following detailed description, referring to

  attached drawings which represent an embodiment provided by way of example purely by way of illustration in which: - Figure 1i shows the metal cap for closing the bottle object of the present invention seen from above; - Figure 2 shows the capsule of Figure 1 applied to a neck of a bottle, in a partially sectioned front view and on an enlarged scale; - Figure 3 shows a graph showing the sealing weeks of the capsule according to the

  number of teeth of the capsule itself.

  In accordance with the figures of the attached drawings, and with particular reference to Figures 1 and 2, the metal capsule 1 for closing bottles, object of the present invention, is of the type called twist-off capsule "and it is used for the closure of sealed bottles

  containing edible liquids.

  This capsule 1 comprises a central body 2 for closing an opening 3 present in the neck 4 of a bottle 5, and an external crown 6 forming a single body with the central body 2. The central body 2 is further provided with '' a seal 9 located on the part intended to be opposite to the opening 3 of the bottle 5 for closing

  leakproof from the bottle itself.

  The outer ring 6 comprises a continuous set of teeth 7 which can be deformed and which can be blocked on the neck 4 at the level of a thread 8 produced on the neck itself; this thread 8 consists of a number P of threads, which may vary according to the type of bottle to be closed and which, in this example and with purely indicative ziter, is equal to four (the most commonly used type): of this way, the capsule 1 is fixed securely to the neck 4, by means of its teeth 7 which are embedded in the thread 8 so as to obtain a perfect seal and at the same time allow the opening by a simple manual rotation of the capsule

herself 1.

  The numerous studies and tests carried out by the applicant company have shown that by increasing the number of teeth 7 beyond the ordinary number of twenty-one, a number which has characterized the classic capsule for years, the risks of cuts or injuries to the user's hands during the rotation phase

capsule opening 1.

  Consequently, in order to obtain a number of teeth 7 allowing not only an easy and safe manual opening, but also a sealing stability of the capsule 1 on the bottle, we tested different solutions until a correlation was found between the number of teeth 7 and the number of threads P of the thread 8 produced in the neck 4 of the bottle 5: it has in fact been observed that a number of teeth 7 equal to a multiple of the number of the threads P of the thread 8 resulted, over time ,

  a decrease in the stability of the capsule 1.

  This correlation is clearly visible in the graph of FIG. 3, in which on the abscissa are indicated several capsules 1 having a different number of teeth 7 (and in particular from 25 to 33, as the graph clearly shows) and provided with seals 9 of different materials (i.e. materials with high 9a, medium 9b and low 9c binding), while on the ordinate axis the number of weeks during which the capsule 1 guarantees good stability is indicated. the tightness of the bottle 5; as can be seen, the capsules with 28 and 32 teeth have a tightness in time very reduced independently of the material of the seal 9, while the capsules 1, the number of teeth 7 is not a multiple of the number of threads P of thread 8, maintain a

  perfect seal for several weeks.

  In particular, it has been verified that the optimal number of teeth 7 on the external crown 6 is equal to a number between 29 and 33, and also that if the neck 4 of the bottle 5 is characterized by a thread 8 with four threads P , the optimal solution in this case is that of a capsule 1 to thirty and

  a tooth 7 (which is indeed a prime number).

  This solution therefore makes it possible to achieve the prefixed goal because a greater number of teeth allows a faster and safer opening of the capsule attached to the neck, and at the same time guarantees an equal level of security of the sealing of the bottle. to that of closed bottles with

the ordinary capsule.

  Following the same methods, it has also been observed that the preferred number of teeth above, namely thirty-one teeth, is also suitable for bottles having a thread with three threads since thirty-one is a prime number and not a

multiple of three.

  The invention thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications and variants, which all fall within the field of said invention. In addition, all details can be replaced by

  technically equivalent elements.

Claims (4)

  1. Metallic capsule for closing bottles, capsule (1) of the type comprising a central body (2) for closing an opening (3) present in the neck (4) of said bottle (5) and a crown external (6) forming a single body with said central body (2) and comprising a continuous set of deformable teeth (7) which can be locked on said neck (4) at the level of a thread (8) produced in the neck having a number of threads (P), characterized in that said outer crown (6) comprises a number of teeth (7) different from an integer multiple of this number of threads (P) and between twenty-nine and thirty-three teeth.   2. Capsule according to claim 1, the thread (8) of which comprises said number of threads (N) equal to four, characterized in that said external crown (6) comprises a number of teeth (7) equal to thirty-one.   3. Capsule according to claim 1, the thread (8) of which comprises said number of threads (N) equal to three, characterized in that said external crown (6) comprises a number of teeth (7) equal to thirty-one.   4. Capsule according to the above claims and   according to what is described and illustrated by referring to the figures of the attached drawings and for the goals.