GB2143219A - Closure member - Google Patents

Abstract

A closure member for resealing a bottle 7 comprises an inner member 1 provided with lugs 12, and an outer member 4 configured to fit over the inner member and which is helically movable relative to the inner member to lock the lugs 12 in position over the lip 8 of the bottle. One of the members comprises a groove 14 defined by opposed walls 16, 17 and the other comprises a tooth 41 slidable in the groove between a first stable position in which the closure member is locked on the bottle and a second stable position in which the closure member is removable from the bottle. The wall 17 is extended by a distance l beyond a line 60 passing through the 19 bridging point 61 to facilitate movement of the tooth between the two positions. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Closure member This invention, of use for closing necked receptacles, relates to a closure member of use inter alia for reclosing bottles containing fizzy drinks such as champagne.

A closure member which forms the prior art for this invention has been described inter alia in United States patent specification 3 779 412; however, this invention relates more particularly to the Applicant's French patent specification 2 476 608, the device which is described therein comprising an inner cylindrical member with its bottom periphery in the form of a multilobed skirt; each lobe has an inner catch member in its bottom part, the catch member being engageable below the lipped edge and adapted to engage sealing means on the neck mouth.The closure member also comprises an outer cylindrical member forming a locking member adapted to extend around the skirt and to slide therealong to engage the catch members below the lipped edge, and to maintain such engagement; the movement, which is a helical movement of the outer member relatively to the inner member from a top position to a bottom or locking position, is guided and the outer member is maintained in the locking position by means of a pair of ramps in the inner member and of a pair of teeth projecting from the inside surface of the outer member; the teeth are each adapted to move in a ramp between the locking position and a top release position, each such position being a stable position of a tooth in its ramp. The terms "top" and "bottom" are to be understood as being defined in relation to the normal vertical position of a receptacle.

In one of the embodiments described in French patent specification 2 476 608, the ramps in shape resembled an asymmetrical U or V, the shorter arm thereof defining the locking position and the longer or higher arm defining the release position of the skirt lobes; ramp width was substantially constant and equal to the diameter of the teeth, which were circular.

It has been found in use that closure members of this kind sometimes suffered from the disadvantage that, once placed on a receptacle neck, it was impossible to withdraw them therefrom, apparently because for the teeth to move from one ramp on to the other and notably from the bottom arm to the top ar m-i.e., from the closed position to the open position-they must move over a transitional part of the ramp along which the rotary movement of the outer member relatively to the inner member can take place only if the connection between the inner member and the neck is stronger than between the outer member and the inner member. These conditions apply when the neck mouth is dry but not when it is wet, inter alia because of wetting by the liquid in the receptacle.Of course the same disadvantage may arise when the receptacle is reclosed with the neck wet, in this case with the result that the closure member cannot be locked to the neck.

The improvements according to this invention have as their object to obviate this disadvantage by means of special shaping of the ramps and/or teeth. It is another object of the invention to provide more convenient and more rational means for contriving and assembling the constituent elements of the device.

According to this invention, the closure member as hereinbefore outlined comprises as first general characteristic the fact that the bottom wall of each ramp extends beyond a generatrix of the inner cylindrical member, such generatrix extending through the lowest point of the top ramp wall, by a distance 1 sufficient for the tooth rising along a generatrix to be able to engage in a recess beyond the lowest point of the last-mentioned wall.

The closure member according to the invention has as its second general characteristic a chimney for introduction of the teeth, the chimney having an L shape opening at one end into the top part of the inner member and at the other end into the tooth-receiving recess, the bottom part of the chimney comprising a pawl adapted to retract as the tooth passes by, at assembly of the closure member, in its movement from the chimney to its recess, the pawl inhibiting the return of the tooth into the chimney after it has thus passed by.

Preferably, the ramps and the chimnies take up only a small proportion of the inner member in which their shape exists in negative form.

According to a third general feature, the inner member has an annular shoulder above the skirt and on its inside surface; and the sealing means are embodied by a plastics member recessed at the bottom and having a peripheral edge adapted to bear on the inner shoulder, its top part forming a peg or the like for centring a spring. Preferably, the annular shoulder is disposed immediately below the pawl so that the peripheral edge is disposed opposite the pawl and serves as a means of returning the same.

The invention will be more clearly understood and other features deriving therefrom will emerge from the following description of an embodiment, reference being made to the accompanying drawings wherein: Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view, partly sectioned, of a closure member according to the invention; Figure 2 is a section through the closure member of Fig. 1 when the same is in the assembled state; Figures 3a and 3b are views to an enlarged scale of a detail of the closure member of Figs. 1 and 2, Figs. 3a and 3b including the main features of the improvements according to this invention, and Figure 4 is a constructional variant of the detail of the previous Figure.

Referring to Fig. 1, a closure member according to the invention is embodied by a generally tubular cylindrical inner member 1, sealing means 2, a spring 3, an outer cylindrical member 4 closed at the top and a preferably metallic cover 5 for covering the top of the member 4. When assembled the integers 1-5 have a common axis of symmetry 6.

The member 1 is shaped on its bottom periphery as a multilobed skirt 10, each lobe, as 11, having in its bottom part an internal catch member or widening 12. The member 1 has an annular shoulder 1 3 on its inside surface and, on its outside surface, a pair of ramps, as 14, inclined to the axis 6; the other ramp, which is offset s7/2 around the axis 6 relatively to the ramp 14, cannot be seen in the drawing but is completely symmetrical of the visible ramp 14. The special shape of the ramps will be described hereinafter with reference to the detail illustrations.

The sealing means 2 take the form of a resilient member formed with a conical recess 20 opening at the bottom, and a peripheral edge 22 near the top part, the same being shaped as a peg 23 adapted to receive and centre the spring 3.

The outer member 4 has on its inside surface two diametrically opposite teeth, as 41, and a centring peg or the like 43 similar to the peg 23; the base of the member 4 has an outer edge 44 formed with a groove adapted to receive the bottom edge of the cover 5.

Referring to Fig. 2, the integers of Fig. 1 are shown in the assembled state (except that the bottom edge of the cover 5 is still clear of the groove in the edge 44 of the outer member 4, for the sake of clarity in the illustration) opposite a neck 7 of a receptacle, the neck 7 having at the top a lipped edge 8 below which the lobe widenings 1 2 are engageable, the sealing means 2 being engaged inside the neck 7. The spring 3 produces a continuous force tending to disengage the inner member 1 and outer member 4 from one another. For the sake of clarity in the drawings, the closure member is not shown in engagement with the neck 7 as should be the case, the closure member elements being shown in the locking position (with the outer member extending around the skirt lobes 11); this case does not of course occur in practice.

Referring to Figs. 3a and 3b, the ramp 14, bounded in the thickness of the inner member 1 by a top wall 16 and by a bottom wall 17, has a V shape with one arm of the V extending to the top edge of the inner member 1 through an L-shaped chimney 18. The same serves as a means for the initial introduction of the tooth 41 into the ramp 14; the bottom part of the chimney 1 8 has a pawl 1 9 which is adapted to retract when in assembly of the closure member the tooth 41 passes by in its movement from the chimney 18 to the ramp 14, the pawl 1 9 preventing the tooth 41 from returning into the chimney 18. The return of the pawl 1 9 after its retraction is facilitated by the pressure applied to it by the peripheral edge 12, as is clearly apparent in the sectional view of Fig. 3b.

Referring again to Fig. 3a, the tooth 41 is in a locking position corresponding to the arrangement of the elements shown in Fig. 2; the chain-line position 41' of the tooth 41 is its release position.

The ramp bottom wall 1 7 extends beyond a generatrix 60 passing through the bottom point or ridge 61 of the top wall 1 6 as far as a low point 1 6 disposed on a generatrix 63, the distance I between the generatrices 60 and 63 being sufficient for the tooth 41, as it is moved along the second generatrix 63 by the spring 3, to engage in a recess disposed beyond the lowest point of the ramp top wall, the latter recess being bounded by the ridge 61 and by the edge of the pawl 19.

Because of the offset between the bottom positions 61 and 62 of the ramp top wall and bottom wall, the tooth 41 can make a movement with play along a generatrix, as a result of which the tooth 41, when subjected to a manual screwing or unscrewing movement, can pass in either direction across the generatrix 60 separating the locking position from the release position.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 3a the tooth 41 is formed with a slot in which the ridge 61 can engage; the advantage of this feature is to reduce wear of the ridge 61 and to improve the definition of the stable locking position.

Fig. 4 illustrates a second example for the shaping of the ramps and teeth 41 wherein the latter are cylindrical; the generatrices 60, 63 passing through the ramp bottom positions 61, 62 respectively are slightly further apart than in the previous embodiment.

In the embodiment shown both in Fig. 3a and in Fig. 4 the closure member operates as follows: When, with the bottom surface of the annular shoulder 1 3 bearing on the top end of a neck 7, a strong pressure is applied to the surface of the cover 5, the teeth 41 engage slidingly with the ramp bottom walls 1 7 and impart thereto a turning movement which continues until the teeth 41 have reached the bottom position 62 of their respective ramp.

They have by then moved beyond the generatrix 60 corresponding to the ridge 61, and when the pressure on the cover 5 ceases the teeth 41 can rise along the generatrix 63 and engage stably beyond the ridge 61. Renewed pressure on the cover 5 together with a slight turning movement in the opening direction returns the teeth 41 to the other side of the ridge 61, the teeth being in sliding engagement with the respective top wall 16; the sliding continues until the teeth 41 reach the stable open position.

Although preferred embodiments have been described and illustrated, this invention is not of course limited in this respect and the invention covers a closure member of the kind hereinbefore disclosed which has the general features herein before set out.

Claims (9)

1. A closure member for receptacles having a neck (7), the neck having a circular lipped edge (8), the closure member comprising an inner cylindrical member (1) with its bottom periphery in the form of a multilobed skirt (10), each lobe having an inner catch member (12) in its bottom part, the member (12) being engageable below the edge (8) and adapted to engage sealing means on the neck mouth, the closure member also-comprising an outer cylindrical member (4) forming a locking member adapted to extend around the skirt and to slide therealong to engage the catch members (12) below the edge (8), and to maintain such engagement, by means of a pair of ramps (14) in the inner member and of a pair of teeth (41) projecting from the outer member, the last-mentioned teeth (41) each being adapted to move in a ramp between a locking position and a release position, each such position being a stable position of a tooth (41) in its ramp (14), characterised in that the bottom wall (17) of each ramp (14) extends beyond a generatrix (60) of the inner cylindrical member (1), such generatrix extending through the lowest point (61) of the top ramp wall (16) by a distance / sufficient for the tooth (41) rising along a generatrix (63) to be above to engage in a recess beyond the lowest point of the last-mentioned wall (16).

2. A closure member according to claim 1, characterised in that each ramp has associated with it a chimney (18) for introduction of the teeth (41), the chimney having an L shape opening at one end into the top part of the inner member (1) and at the other end into the tooth-receiving recess, the bottom part of the chimney comprising a pawl (19) adapted to retract as the tooth passes by in its movement from the chimney to its recess.

3. A closure member according to claim 2, characterised in that the inner member (1) has an annular shoulder (13) above the skirt (10) and on its inside surface; and the sealing means are embodied by a plastics member (2) recessed at the bottom and having a peripheral edge (23) adapted to bear on the inner shoulder, its top part forming a peg or the like for centring a spring (3).

4. A closure member according to claim 3, characterised in that the annular shoulder (23) is disposed immediately below the pawl (19) so that the peripheral edge (23) is disposed opposite the pawl and serves as a means of returning the same.

5. A closure member according to claim 4, characterised in that the ramps (14) and the chimnies (18) take up only a small proportion of the inner member (1) in which their shape exists in negative form.

6. A closure member according to claim 5, characterised in that each tooth is formed with a slot in which the low point or ridge (61) of the top wall (17) of the ramp (14) can engage.

7. A closure member for a necked container comprising an inner member configured for engagement on the container neck and an outer member configured to fit over the inner member and which is rotatable relative to the inner member, one of the inner and outer members comprising a groove having a bend defined by first and second opposed generally V-shaped or U-shaped walls and the other comprising a lug slidable in the groove between a first stable position in which the closure member is locked on the container and a second stable position in which the closure member is removable from the container characterised in that the first and second generally V-shaped or U-shaped walls are offset from one another so as to facilitate movement of the lug between the first and second stable positions.

8. A closure member according to claim 7 characterised by means disposed adjacent the bend in the groove for preventing movement of the lug away from the second stable position.

9. A closure member substantially as herein described and with reference to Figs.

1-3 or Fig. 4 of the accompanying drawings.