FR2780955A1 - Stopper assembly for bottle containing liquid, e.g. beverage, under pressure comprises internally threaded cap and pressure resistant seal having orifice and shaped as a cup - Google Patents

Abstract

The stopper assembly is used on a bottle that has a neck (R) carrying a screw thread (10). The stopper has a cap (B) with a base (14) and a cylindrical side wall (16) and an internal screw thread (18) formed on the internal surface of the cylindrical side wall. A pressure resistant seal (20) is included in the stopper assembly and this is shaped as a circular cup. An orifice (24) is formed in the cup. The internal surface (26) of the base carries a boss (28) that covers the orifice when the cap is in the closed position.

Description

The present invention relates, in general, to devices

  for closing containers for liquids containing gases which may be under pressure. The present invention relates, more particularly, to the closure of containers such as bottles containing a liquid in which a gas is dissolved, such as for example

  a soft drink, such as carbonated water, lemonade or soda.

  In general, the closure devices for these bottles consist of a stopper provided with a thread, cooperating with a corresponding thread formed on the end of the neck of the bottle, a pellet or a washer made of a resilient material. possibly being placed in the bottom of the cap to seal the

  closing when screwing the cap on the bottle.

  These known devices fulfill the desired closing and sealing functions. However, it may happen that the gas pressure inside the bottle is relatively high, for example as a result of the agitation of this bottle or an increase in the storage temperature. It then follows that, when a user wishes to open this bottle, the gas dissolved in the liquid vaporizes almost instantaneously, forming bubbles within the liquid, bubbles which propel the latter through the passage offered by the current cap. opening hours. This results in a substantial loss of liquid,

  splashes on the user and all the inconvenience which results therefrom.

  The present invention is placed in this context and aims to provide a device for closing containers containing a liquid and a gas which may be under pressure, ensuring the seal in the closed position, and allowing the opening of these containers despite the pressure may reign inside, without the liquid escaping. The object of the invention is therefore to gradually and gently reduce the difference between the internal pressure of the gas in the container, in particular when there is oversaturation of the gas dissolved in the liquid, and

  the external ambient pressure when the container is opened.

  To this end, the subject of the present invention is a device for capping a container having a neck provided with a thread, the corking device comprising, on the one hand, a plug formed by a bottom and by a wall. lateral cylindrical, an internal thread being formed on the internal wall of the cylindrical lateral wall, and, on the other hand, a pressure-resistant cover in the form of a circular cup, intended

to cooperate with the cap.

  According to the invention, at least one passage is formed in the cover. Preferably, the stopper is provided, on the internal face of the bottom, with at least one stud capable of closing this passage when the stopper is screwed onto the neck of the container, that is to say in the closed position. According to a characteristic of the invention, the stud has a cylindrical or frustoconical shape, the height of the stud being such that, in the closed position, the front face of the stud blocks the passage of the cover. According to one embodiment, the cover is porous for gases, but impermeable for liquids. The front surface of the stud is then

  favorably equal to the total surface of the cover.

  According to another embodiment, the stud has an annular crown shape, passages being formed in the cover and being distributed along the circumference of a circle of diameter equal to the mean diameter of the annular front surface of the crown annular, the height of the annular ring being such that, in the closed position, the annular front face of the annular ring blocks the

passages formed in the cover.

  According to one aspect of the invention, the closure device comprises two coaxial stages, the internal thread of the first stage cooperating with the external thread of the neck of the container, and the second stage having an external thread cooperating with the plug,

  the cover being disposed between the plug and the second stage.

  0 According to another aspect of the invention, a second cover

  is disposed between the first cover (20) and the stopper.

  Other purposes, features and advantages of this

  invention will become more apparent from the following description of a

  exemplary embodiment given by way of illustration, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: - Figure 1 shows a view in longitudinal section of a neck of a bottle, closed using a closure device according to a first mode of carrying out the present invention; Figure 2 shows a longitudinal sectional view of the neck of the bottle of Figure 1, after a first step of opening this bottle; - Figure 3 shows a longitudinal sectional view of the neck of the bottle of Figure 1, after complete opening of this bottle; - Figure 4 shows schematically in section a two-stage closure device according to a second embodiment of the invention; - Figures 5 and 6 show a cover according to the invention forming a whistle; - Figure 7 schematically illustrates a cover provided with a wind reel; - Figures 8 and 9 schematically show the use of a second seal forming an inflatable pocket, respectively not associated and associated with a whistle; and - Figure 10 shows a variant of the embodiment

illustrated in Figure 4.

  Referring to the Figures, there is shown a bottle neck OR container, generally designated by the reference R, and a closure element, generally designated by the reference B. The neck R of the container has a generally cylindrical shape , and it presents a

  external thread 10, in a manner known per se.

  According to a first embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 to 3, the closure element B comprises a plug 12, formed from a bottom 14 and a cylindrical side wall 16, on the inner wall of which is formed a thread interior 18 intended to cooperate with the external thread 10 of the neck R of the container. The closure element B also comprises a cover 20, made of a material capable of withstanding the pressure inside the container and, for example, in the form of a circular cup, intended to cooperate both with the stopper B and with the inside of the neck R of the container to seal the closure, in particular for the liquid contained in the container. The plug B may, for example, include an annular rib 22 intended to press the outer peripheral edge of the cover 20 on the inner wall of the neck R or on a chamfer 34 formed thereon, as shown in the Figures. In accordance with the embodiment of the present invention shown in the Figures, the cover 20 is pierced in its center with a passage 24 of small diameter, preferably less than or equal to one millimeter, so as to form a flow restrictor for the gas. The aforementioned diameter of the passage 24 is, of course, a function of the quantity of gas dissolved in the liquid and of the speed at which it is desired to carry out the decompression. In the example shown, but not necessary for the proper functioning of the closure device, the stopper B is provided, at the center of the internal face 26 of the bottom 14, with a stud 28. The central stud 28 has, for in effect, first of all ensuring that the passage 24 is closed when the container is closed, so as to prevent liquid from coming into the chamber located between the stopper B and the cover 20, and then to constitute a baffle complementary decreasing momentarily increasing the effect of the flow restrictor constituted by the passage 24 for gases at the start of the unscrewing of the plug B. The stud 28 is of generally cylindrical shape, or, as shown, of frustoconical shape, to facilitate its manufacture. The end face 30 of the stud 28 has a surface greater than that of the passage 24, and the height of the stud 28, that is to say the distance between the parallel planes containing the internal face 26 of the plug B and the face 30 of the stud 28 , is such that, in the fully closed position shown in the

  1i Figure 1, at least part of the face 30 comes to close the passage 24.

  This gives a perfect seal against the liquid, especially when the bottle is in a horizontal position or held upside down, and against gas as long as

  the cap was not slightly unscrewed.

  1 5 On reading the embodiment described above, we

  will have understood how the present invention can be implemented.

  When a user wishes to have access to the contents of the container, he unscrews

  the plug B in the usual way.

  If a low or negligible pressure prevails inside the container, everything happens for the user as if it were a stopper of the prior art. Once the cap B is fully unscrewed, the cover 20 remains at the end of the neck, and the user no longer has

  only remove it to gain access to the liquid in the container.

  Advantageously, provision may be made for the cover 20 to be provided with a tongue 32, integrally formed therewith, to facilitate gripping of the cover 20. A particular advantage presented by the cover 20 consists in the fact that its presence indicates to the user that the container

  has not yet been opened, and therefore its contents could not be altered.

  Such a statement may appear or be printed on the outside

  of the cover 20, or any other information, for example advertising.

  The cover 20 will have been previously fixed on the neck of the bottle by conventional techniques, such as thermo-bonding, ultrasonic welding, etc., so as to resist the difference between the pressure likely to prevail at the inside the bottle and ambient pressure. If there is a relatively high pressure inside the container, for example because the latter has been shaken or exposed to excessive heat, when the user unscrews the cap B, this operation results in causing the face to move away terminal 30 of the stud 28 of the surface of the cover 20 and, therefore, of opening the passage 24. The gas situated above the level of the liquid can then be evacuated through the

passage 24 while relaxing.

  Initially, the volume of the space between the upper face of the cover 20 and the plug 14 is added to the volume located between the level of the liquid and the cover 20 to begin decompression of the gas. The front surface 30 of the pad 28 also plays, and as has already been said, at this time, with the passage 24 a role of

variable flow restrictor.

  Indeed, at the beginning of the unscrewing of the plug B, the front face 30 is very close to the passage 24 and therefore forms a substantial obstacle to the passage of the gas. However, the pressure of the latter is then high, so that a certain amount of gas can escape and flow through the threads 10 and 18, having already undergone a significant pressure drop. As the cap B is unscrewed, the distance between the front face 30 and the passage 24 increases, so that the obstacle presented to the passage of the gas becomes less and less significant. An increasing amount of gas

can then overcome this obstacle.

  The cooperation between the passage 24 and the front face 30 of the pad 28 during the unscrewing of the plug B thus creates a variable flow restrictor for a gas under variable pressure. By a suitable choice of the diameters of the passage 24 and of the front surface 30, it will thus be possible to obtain an appropriate flow rate downstream of this obstacle, according to the well known relationship: Q = ksV dp o: Q is the flow rate downstream of the obstacle consisting of the passage 24 and the front face 30, k is a coefficient of orifice, s is the cross section of the obstacle, and

  dp is the difference in pressures on either side of the obstacle.

  In a second step, when the cap B is completely unscrewed and can be separated from the neck R of the container, the gas in the container thus continues to evacuate until pressure equilibria, with a flow which can be calculated at using the same relationship, the obstacle then being the only restriction constituted by passage 24. Thus, the decompression s15 is carried out slowly enough so that the liquid

  contained in this container is not at any time propelled outside.

  At the end of decompression, the user then only has to remove the cover 20, as explained above, in order to be able to dispose of the liquid contained in the container, without having run the risk

  to be splashed by this liquid.

  A device has therefore been produced according to the present invention for closing containers of liquids which may include

  gases under pressure, this device sealing the closure.

  It allows these containers to be opened regardless of the pressure that may prevail inside, this pressure automatically and gently tending towards atmospheric pressure of the ambient environment when the cap is unscrewed without propelling liquid outside the container. Such a result is obtained in a particularly simple manner and inexpensive, since it suffices to have between the container and the stopper a cover pierced with an opening, cooperating with a stud formed inside the stopper. Of course, the invention is not limited to the embodiments which have been described, but it is on the contrary liable to receive numerous modifications which will appear to a person skilled in the art. Thus, for example, it will be possible to have, instead of a central stud and a central passage, an annular ring inside the plug, intended to cooperate with a series of passages distributed along of the circumference of a circle of diameter equal to

  Average diameter of the annular frontal surface of this crown.

  Furthermore, it should be noted that this central stud 28 is really only necessary for sealing against the liquid; passage 24 of the cover may, in fact, constitute in itself a restrictor sufficient for the gas. So when a seal against the liquid is not

  required, the central pad 28 can be omitted.

  Likewise, provision may be made for the installation of a second cover disposed between the first cover and the stopper, possibly provided with at least one passage, but, preferably, the passage of this second cover will not be made opposite of the passage of the first cover. We thus determine a chicane still opposing a

  possible exit of the liquid in which the gases are dissolved.

  This second cover, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, can favorably be constituted by an inflatable elastic pocket 36 disposed in a substantially sealed manner facing the first cover and integral with it, so as to be liable to swell during unscrewing the plug B. In this case, the bag 36 can advantageously constitute a support for a decorative or advertising motif, and / or present, once inflated, a specific shape which may be surprising, such as that of an animal, a devil or a running object. The base of the pocket 36 preferably has a means for removing it by simple tearing, for example a pre-cut. A material in

  shape memory plastic can be favorably used.

  Those skilled in the art may also provide that the passage 24 in the cover 20 is not physically open in the cover as long as

  that the gas pressure in the cylinder does not reach a determined threshold.

  The passage 24 is then constituted by a zone of weakness of the cover, an area which will tear in order to open a passage for the gases when the stud 28 moves away sufficiently from the cover 20 and if the pressure of the gases at the inside the container exceeds the determined threshold. This zone of weakness may be favorably obtained by pre-cutting the cover or by any other equivalent means locally reducing the thickness of the cover of the cover opposite the pad 28. It should be noted that, in such a case, the stud 28 is absolutely not necessary in its role -10 of closing the passage 24. It can however prove to be useful for determining a reaction tending to avoid an untimely pre-tearing.

of the cover 20.

  Furthermore, the end face 30 of the stud 28 can be rounded or conical, and not be flat as shown in the Figures. Likewise, provision could advantageously be made for passage 24 to be connected to a whistle or equivalent. The user is then informed of the decompression in progress of the gases and knows that he must not remove the cover 20 until this decompression is not completed, that is to say

as long as the whistle works.

  This whistle effect can be obtained by making an edge of the passage or an additional reed vibrate naturally. Such an integrated or additional reed (not shown in the Figures) will

  therefore formed opposite passage 24.

  Such a whistle 40 has been shown in Figures 5, 6 and 9.

  In Figure 5, the whistle 40 has a loose ball 42, although a reed device is possible. In Figure 6, the whistle 40 is directly connected to the passage 24 made in the cover 20, while in Figure 9, the whistle 40 is connected to the corresponding passage made in the second cover 36. In both cases, the whistle 40 is arranged substantially parallel to the cover 20 at rest, while it stands when the plug B is opened. Similarly, as shown in FIG. 7, a wind reel 50 can be arranged substantially opposite the passage 24 coaxially with the closure device, so as to enter into rotation as soon as the plug B is unscrewed. For this purpose, the reel 50 comprises a set of propeller blades 52 mounted for free rotation around an axis 54 The gas passing through the opening 24 is, for example, deflected by fins 56 to ensure the rotation of the propeller, the conduit 58 between the fins 56 and the passage 24 being capable of being crushed by the central stud 28 when the cap is closed, so to close the passage 24 and ensure the required seal. A spacer (not shown in the Figure) can favorably limit the length of the conduit 58 when the gases decompress. Similarly, we can predict that the propeller will be released from the

  device at a given speed of rotation to rise in the air.

  It should be noted that the addition of a whistle 40 or of a reel makes it possible to increase in a favorable and playful way the effect of the flow restrictor constituted by the simple passage 24 practiced in the cover 20. Also note that pocket 36, whistle 40 and reel 50 can

favorably combine.

  In another embodiment of the closure device according to the invention, mode shown schematically in section in Figure 4, the device comprises two coaxial stages 60, 62, the internal thread of the first stage 60 cooperating with the external thread 10 of the neck of the container R, and the second stage 62 having an external thread cooperating with the stopper B, the cover 20 then being disposed between the stopper B and the second stage 62. The two stages are separated by the plate 70 crossed by a passage 72 The passage 72 is preferably, but not necessarily, offset with respect to the axis of the closure device so as to create a baffle adding its effect to

  that of the flow restrictor constituted by the passage 24 of the cover 20.

  The user then has the choice of opening the container R as usual by unscrewing the first stage 60, or else of implementing the invention by unscrewing the plug B of the second stage 62. All of the above elements then apply to the second stage 62 of the closure device. In an alternative embodiment illustrated in Figure 10, the cover 20 and its passage 24 shown in Figure 4 are replaced directly by the plate 70 and its passage 72. The stud 28 of the plug B then comes into abutment against the plate 70 to close the passage 72. The decompression chamber located between the plate 70 and the plug B then has a greater volume making it easier to accommodate the pocket, whistle and / or reel (not shown in FIG. 10), and ensuring better decompression gases from the start of the unscrewing of the plug B. The user then still has the choice of opening the container R as usual by unscrewing the first stage 60, or else putting

  implementing the invention by unscrewing the plug B of the second stage 62.

  It is therefore clear that many variants which may possibly be combined can be made here.

  without ever departing from the scope of the invention as defined below.

Claims (5)

  1- Device for capping a container having a neck (R) provided with a thread (10), the capping device comprising on the one hand a stopper (B) formed by a bottom (14) and a cylindrical side wall (16), an internal thread (18) being formed on the inner wall of the cylindrical side wall (16) and, on the other hand, a cover (20) resistant to pressure and substantially in the shape of a circular cup intended to cooperate with the plug (B), characterized in that at least   a passage (24) is formed in the cover (20).   o 2 - Corking device according to claim 1, characterized in that the plug (B) is provided, on the internal face (26) of the bottom (14), with at least one stud (28) capable of sealing the said passage (24)   when the plug (B) is in the closed position.   3- Corking device according to claim 2, characterized in that said pad (28) has a cylindrical or frustoconical shape, the height of the pad (28) being such that, in the closed position, the front face (30) of the stud closes the said passage (24) of the cover (20).   4 - Corking device according to one of claims   2 and 3, characterized in that the surface of said front face (30) of said   stud (28) has a flat, rounded or conical shape.   - Clogging device according to any one of   Claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the front face (30) of said block   (28) has an area substantially equal to the total area of the cover (20).   6- Clogging device according to any one of   claims 2 to 4, characterized in that said stud (28) has a shape of   is annular crown, passages being formed in the cover (20) and being distributed along the circumference of a circle of diameter equal to the mean diameter of the annular front surface of the annular crown, the height of the annular crown being such that, in the closed position, the annular front face of the annular crown closes the   passages formed in said seal (20).   7- Clogging device according to any one of   previous claims, characterized in that the diameter of said   passage (24) is less than or equal to one millimeter.