GB2057390A - Combined anti-refilling and pouring device for fitment to a bottle - Google Patents

Abstract

An anti-refilling bottle fitment has a tubular casing 1 with a non-return valve (15) located within the casing and projecting from the outer surface of the casing at least one ring of radially projecting deformable asperities 3 disposed in at least one ring around the casing. The device fits within the neck of a bottle and is retained there by engagement of the asperities with the locally enlarged diameter portion customarily formed during manufacture within the neck of a bottle, the asperities deforming ing as the device is pushed into the bottle neck and then springing out into engagement with the enlarged diameter portion. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Combined anti-refilling and pouring device for fit ment to a bottle The subject of this invention is a combined anti-refill fitment and pouring device for a bottle. Anti-refill fitments are used to prevent removal of the original contents of bottles bearing the brand labels of, for example, reputable manufacturers of spirits and replacement of the original contents by other material of an inferior quality with the intention of reselling the bottles as genuinely containing the product of the company mentioned on the brand label.

Such anti-refill fitments often take the form of structures which are fitted over the necks of the bottles and once in place cannot be removed without being permanently damaged. A bottle which has been tampered with thus provides an indication that it has been tampered with. These fitments are all more or less complicated and expensive to make and it has been realized that the best type of fitment is one which fits within the bottle neck rather than outside the bottle neck. Such a fitment is virtually irremovable from the bottle neck.

The usual bottle made to contain spirits carries a reinforcing ring around the outside of the neck. It has been noticed that the inside of the neck at the position of the ring on the outside is locally increased in diameter normally as part of the process of fitting the reinforcing ring and the present invention when in use exploits this feature.

A combined anti-refilling and pouring device is the subject of our prior patent no. 1 532 652. The device of that patent incorporates a tubular casing formed with a tubular main body portion and a smaller diameter tubular extension projecting from one end of the main body portion, said tubular extension being formed with inwardly directed radial fins of a radial dimension such as to leave a clear axial passage defined by the inner tips of the fins and at the end remote from the main body portion with an annularflange projecting inwardly beyond the fins, a ring member consisting of a ring portion and fins extending axially from one end face of the ring portion, the fins being radially disposed with respect to the axis of the ring portion and the end portions of all the fins remote from the ring portion being connected to the periphery of a disc the diameter of which is less than the outside diameter of the ring portion, said ring member being located within the tubular main body portion of the tubular casing with the fins on the ring member abuting the fins in the tubular extension so that the two sets of fins together form a cage, a movable valve member located within the cage and a radially compressible sleeve encircling the tubular casing, the outside diameter of the sleeve exceeding the outside dia meter of the main body portion.

The member retaining the device within the bottle neck in that construction is a radially compressive sleeve encircling the tubular casing. The sleeve is a separate part additional to the pouring device proper and thus requires a separate manufacturing and fitting operation. Also to be radially compressive the sleeve must be made of or incorporate a compressible material the most suitable of which is cork. The compressible materials which are most suitable, including cork, tend to be absorbent and although they may not react with the liquid contents of the bottle it is normally considered undesirable to have such material particularly a friable material like cork in contact with the bottle contents. Ideally the whole device should be of a tough non-absorbent material which is also completely inert with respect to the bottle contents.

The device of the present invention functions central aperture formed as a valve seat, and a valve closure element held captive within the casing between the two diaphragms and freely movable between a position in which it engages the valve seat and a position in contact with the baffle plate.

The asperities may take the form of cones or pyramids having their bases on the external surface of the casing.

The casing may present several rings of asperities, those in one ring being staggered circumferentially from those in the or each adjacent ring.

The valve closure element may be a ball.

The casing may be formed of two separate tubular parts, each containing one of the diaphragms located adjacent one end of that part, the other ends of the two parts being formed to be engageable with one another preferably by a form of snap connection.

The casing may be formed with radial fins projecting internally from the inner surface to guide the valve closure element. One or both casing parts may be formed with such fins.

The casing may additionally present an externally projecting flange intermediate its ends, the flange being intended to act as a seal in a bottle neck. The casing may also be formed with an externally projecting flange located to act as a stop against the outer end of a bottle neck whereby to prevent the device from being pushed too far into the neck of a bottle.

To provide a snap connection between the rio casing parts the external surface of the end of one casing part connectible to the other casing part may be formed with an annular groove and the internal surface of the end of the other casing part connectible to said one casing part may also be formed with an annular groove, the external land formed between the external groove and the end of the one casing part being engageable with the internal groove in the other casing part and the internal land presented by said other casing part being simultaneously engageable with the external groove of said one casing part when the two casing parts are forced axially together, the end of the casing part formed with -ihe internal groove springing over the end of the other casing part.The edges of the mating ends of the two casing parts may be bevelled internally and externally respectively to facilitate engagement of the two parts.

The outer face of the diaphragm formed as a valve seat may be formed with an annular ridge V-shaped in cross section surrounding the aperture.

The diaphragm presenting the spout may be formed with an annular notch surrounding the aperture to reduce the strength of the diaphragm at this point.

A practical embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 illustrates an anti-refilling and pouring device in position within a bottle neck and Figure 2 is a section through the line 2-2 in Figure 1.

In the drawings 1 and 2 denote casing parts engaged with one another end to end to form a complete casing. The part 1 is formed with two rings of circumferentially spaced radially projecting asperities 3 in the form of circular cones, the rings being axially spaced from one another and the cones of one ring being circumferentially staggered from the cones of the other ring. The overall diameter of the rings is greater than the diameter of the bore 4 of the bottle neck 5 within which the device is shown as inserted.The cones 3 are deformed as the casing is pushed into the bottle neck 1 but revert to substan tiallytheir original shape when they reach the increased diameter portion 6 usually present in the necks of the bottles intended to contain spirits. 7 denotes an internal diaphragm within the casing part 1, the diaphragm 7 being coaxial with the casing and being formed with an aperture 8 and a pouring spout 9 projecting from the diaphragm 7 towards the end of the casing which is the outer end when the device is fitted to a bottle. The diaphragm 7 also supports a baffle plate 10 supported in spaced relation to the diagraphm 7 by columns 11 so that the plate 10 masks but does not close the aperture 8. The diaphragm 7 is formed with an annular notch 12 surrounding the aperture 8 and intended to weaken the diaphragm for a reason to be explained later.

13 denotes an internal diaphragm within the casing part 2, the diaphragm 13 being coaxial with the casing and being formed with an aperture 14 formed as a valve seat in which a ball 15 constituting a valve closure element normally rests. Radial fins 16 are provided within the part 2 inwardly projecting from the inner wall of the part 2 and functioning as guides for the ball 15. The outer surface of the end of the part 2 remote from the diaphragm 13 is formed with an annular groove 17 so that a land 18 is formed between the groove 17 and the adjacent end of the part 2. The inner surface of the part 1 at the end remote from the' pouring spout 9 is formed with an internal annular groove 19 leaving a land 20 between the groove 19 and the adjacent end of the part 1.The land 18 on the part 2 engages the groove 19 in the part 1 and the land 20 in the part 1 engages the groove 17 in the part 2 when the two casing parts 1 and 2 are pressed axially end to end towards one another, the engagement being by the adjacent end of the part 1 springing over the adjacent end of the part 2 to provide a snap connection. The form of connection described resists any attempt to separate the parts 1 and 2 after they are joined. 21 denotes an annular ridge V-shaped in cross section projecting from the outer surface of the diaphragm 13 ofthe part 2 and surrounding the aperture 14. 22 denotes a flange projecting radially outwardly from the outer surface of the part 1 and 23 denotes a flange at the outer end of the casing.

In practice, the device is applied to a bottle neck 5 by forcing it into the bottle neck with the diaphragm 13 leading. The cones forming the asperities 3 deform by bending to one side as they move through the smaller diameter portion 4 of the bottle neck 4 until they reach the enlarged diameter portion 6 of the bottle neck 5 whereupon they revert substantially to their original shape thus locking the device within the bottle neck. When the bottle is up-ended the ball 15 rolls along the fins 16 out of engagement with the seat presented by the aperture 14 and liquid now flows past the bail 15, between the columns 11 and into the pouring spout 9 where it can issue from the bottle, the ball being arrested by the baffle plate 10 which serves to prevent the ball from entering and blocking the aperture 8 and also to control the flow of liquid.

If any attempt is made to remove the device from a bottle neck by inserting an instrument through the aperture 8 and engaging the rim of the diaphragm 7 and then pulling, the diaphragm breaks at the point along the line of the notch 12 leaving the device permanently damaged. This not only prevents removal of the device but also provides an immediate visual indication that the bottle has been tampered with.

The flange 22 surrounding the body portion 1 serves the double purpose of centring the device in the bottle neck in conjunction with the asperities 3 and also of acting as a seal in preventing liquid from flowing around the outer surface of the device. The flange 23 serves as a stop preventing the device from being pushed too far into the bottle neck.

The device presents all the advantages ofthe device of our prior patent no. 1 532 652 but is simpler in construction and does not require the use of a separate compressible sleeve to anchor the device in the neck of a bottle. Also the deformable but not compressible asperities formed integrally with the casing 3 permit moulding of all the parts of the device in an inert plastics material.

Claims (12)

1. A combined anti-refilling and pouring device for fitting within the neck of a bottle comprises a tubular casing enclosing a non-return valve and presenting on its outer surface at least one ring of circumferentially spaced radially projecting deformable asperities.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 incorporating near one end an internal diaphragm coaxial with the casing, said diaphragm having a central aperture, a coaxial pouring spout projecting from the outer surface of the diaphragm i.e. the surface adjacent said end of the casing, and a baffle plate supported in a position spaced from the other surface of the diaphragm to mask the aperture without closing it and at the other end a second diaphragm coaxial with the casing and having a central aperture formed as a valve seat, and a valve closure element held captive within the casing between the two diaphragms and freely movable between a position in which it engages the valve seat and a position in contact with the baffle plate.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which the asperities have the form of cones having their bases on the external surface of the casing.

4. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which the asperities have the form of pyramids having their bases on the external surface of the casing.

5. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which the casing presents several rings of asperities, those in one ring being staggered circumferentially from those in the or each adjacent ring.

6. A device as claimed in claim 2 in which the casing is formed of two separate tubular parts, each containing one of the diaphragms located adjacent one end of that part, the other ends of the two parts being formed to be engageable with one another.

7. A device as claimed in claim 2 in which the casing is formed with radial fins projecting internally from the inner surface to guide the valve closure element.

8. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which the casing presents intermediate its ends an externally projecting flange formed to act as a seal in a bottle neck.

9. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which the casing is formed with an externally projecting flange located to act as a stop against the outer end of a bottle neck whereby to prevent the device from being pushed too far into the neck of a bottle.

10. A device as claimed in claim 6 in which the external surface of the end of one casing part connectible to the other casing part is formed with an annular groove and the internal surface of the end of the other casing part connectible to said one casing part is also formed with an annular groove, the external land formed between the external groove and the end of the one casing part being engageable with the internal groove in the other casing part and the internal land presented by said other casing part being simultaneously engageable with the external groove of said one casing part when the two casing parts are forced axially together, the end of the casing part formed with the internal groove springing over the end of the other casing part to provide a snap connection between the casing parts.

11. A device as claimed in claim 2 in which the diaphragm presenting the spout is formed with an annular notch surrounding the aperture to reduce the strength of the diaphragm of this point.

12. A combined anti-refilling and pouring device for fitting within the neck of a bottle substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawings.