NL2015208B1 - Liquid preservation device and method. - Google Patents
Liquid preservation device and method. Download PDFInfo
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- NL2015208B1 NL2015208B1 NL2015208A NL2015208A NL2015208B1 NL 2015208 B1 NL2015208 B1 NL 2015208B1 NL 2015208 A NL2015208 A NL 2015208A NL 2015208 A NL2015208 A NL 2015208A NL 2015208 B1 NL2015208 B1 NL 2015208B1
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- container
- neck
- liquid
- stopper
- passage
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Classifications
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- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
- A47G—HOUSEHOLD OR TABLE EQUIPMENT
- A47G19/00—Table service
- A47G19/12—Vessels or pots for table use
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
- B65D81/00—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents
- B65D81/24—Adaptations for preventing deterioration or decay of contents; Applications to the container or packaging material of food preservatives, fungicides, pesticides or animal repellants
- B65D81/245—Internal membrane, floating cover or the like isolating the contents from the ambient atmosphere
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- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
- A47G—HOUSEHOLD OR TABLE EQUIPMENT
- A47G2200/00—Details not otherwise provided for in A47G
- A47G2200/02—Floating
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- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Food Science & Technology (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Closures For Containers (AREA)
Abstract
A liquid preservation device comprising a unitary container to store a liquid, said unitary container having a neck, said neck comprising a nominal filling level indicator for indicating a nominal filling level of the container, and a body underneath said neck and fixed to said neck. The liquid preservation device further comprises a stopper insertable into the neck of the container, said stopper comprising a stopper body. Said stopper body comprises a passage through said stopper body, a lower limiter and upper limiter that protrude into said passage, said lower and upper limiter defining within the passage a confinement space in between said limiters. Said stopper further comprises a floatable element confined in said confinement space, and movable within said confinement space to an upper sealing position, wherein in said upper sealing position the floatable element seals said passage. Said stopper further comprises one or more sealing elements provided between the outer side surfaces of the stopper body and the cylindrical inner surface of the neck, so as to seal in the neck to prevent the leakage of gas and liquid between the stopper and the neck of the container. The stopper of the inventive liquid preservation device can be pressed down into the neck of the container after the container has been filled with liquid up to substantially the nominal filling level so that the floatable element is moved to said upper sealing position.
Description
P32417NL00
LIQUID PRESERVATION DEVICE AND METHOD
The present invention relates to the field of devices that preserve liquids, more specifically to liquid preservation devices comprising a container into which the liquid to be preserved is poured in combination with a stopper or cap with a floatable element that is inserted into said container to preserve said liquid. The pouring of the liquid into the container and subsequent insertion of said stopper or cap is done by a human user, e.g. in a restaurant or at home.
Some liquids, e.g. wines, rapidly degrade when in contact with air, e.g. due to oxidation or due to evaporation of constituents. The storage of these liquids thus requires special measures to prevent said degradation, such as the provision of airtight seals. In addition, measures may be needed to prevent the colour of the liquid to be affected by incoming light. These storage requirements also pertain to the storage of a remainder of the liquid after the container containing the liquid, e.g. the wine bottle, has been opened and part of it has been consumed. Devices that prevent degradation and thus preserve these remainders of liquid come in useful in such cases. As degradation of liquids leads to their disposal instead of consumption, e.g. wine gone bad is poured down the sink, such liquid preservation devices reduce the wasting of food. Moreover, the availability of liquid preservation devices lowers the barrier to open a liquid volume, e.g. a bottle of wine.
Liquid preservation devices for the storage of such remaining volumes of liquid are known, for instance devices for prolonged storage in the original container through the use of a valved stopper and a handheld pump to extract air from the container via the valved stopper and to seal the container with said stopper, in order to slow down the oxidation of said liquid.
Also known, e.g. from EP2537775 and GB2508862, are liquid preservation devices to preserve a liquid that comprise a jar open at the top and a stopper comprising a passage from the top side to the bottom side of said stopper. In said passage a floatable element is arranged, said element floatable on liquid. To preserve the liquid in these known devices, the stopper is placed in the jar near the top thereof and then pushed down into the jar.
During this downwards movement the air between the liquid and stopper escapes through the passage. On reaching the liquid level in the jar the floatable element moves from a lower to a higher position within said stopper to seal the passage, thereby sealing the liquid from the ambient.
These known liquid preservation devices strive to preserve a large range of different volumes of liquid, e.g. any volume between 0 and 2 L with the device of EP2537775 or between 0 and 1 L with the device of GB2508862.
The present inventors have determined that the devices of EP2537775 and GB2508862 have disadvantages. For instance, a jar and therefore a stopper with a large diameter is needed, which large diameter stopper is prone to jam at a height above the liquid level, and can only be pressed down to the liquid level with great care and/or force. In addition, such jamming may lead to a poor seal, which may not properly preserve the liquid in the jar. Furthermore, the desire to store both small and large volumes leads to the long tubular element of the stopper of GB2508862. This long tubular element makes the device impractical for the storage of larger volumes close to the maximum content of its jar, as the long tubular element will in that case stick out from the jar, almost doubling the height of the device compared to the height of the jar. The device will therefore be too tall to be placed in many conventional storage spaces, such as a refrigerator or a cupboard.
The present invention aims to overcome one or more of the abovementioned drawbacks.
The inventive liquid preservation device comprises a unitary container to store a liquid, said container having an neck with a cylindrical inner surface with an inner diameter. Said neck comprises a nominal filling level indicator for indicating a nominal filling level and said neck is open at the top. Said container further comprises a body underneath said neck and fixed to said neck.
The inventive liquid preservation device further comprises a stopper insertable into the neck of the container via the top thereof. Said stopper comprises a stopper body with an axis from the top side to the bottom side of said stopper body and said body has one or more side surfaces. Said stopper body comprises a passage through the stopper body at least partly along the axis thereof from a top region to the bottom side of said stopper body and a lower and upper limiter that protrude into said passage, said lower and upper limiter defining within the passage a confinement space in between said limiters. Said stopper further comprises a floatable element that is floatable on the liquid, said floatable element confined in said confinement space, and movable within said confinement space along said axis between a lower resting position, wherein said floatable element lies on said lower limiter, and an upper sealing position, wherein said floatable element lies against said upper limiter and seals the passage in order to prevent the leakage of gas and liquid through the stopper.
Said stopper body further comprises one or more sealing elements provided between the one or more side surfaces of the stopper body and the cylindrical inner surface of the neck, said one or more sealing elements having an inwards directed surface adapted to the side surface of the stopper body and a circular or cylindrical outer side surface with a diameter adapted to the inner diameter of the neck of said container, so as to seal in the neck in order to prevent the leakage of gas and liquid between the stopper and the neck of the container.
The stopper of the inventive liquid preservation device can be pressed down by the user into the neck of the container after the container has been filled with liquid up to substantially the nominal filling level so that the floatable element is moved from said lower resting position to said upper sealing position.
The neck of the container has a cylindrical inner surface that allows the one or more sealing elements with circular or radially outwards directed surface to sealingly fit into the neck of the container. The side surface of the stopper body may be cylindrical, e.g. resembling a cork, in which case the one or more sealing elements of the stopper body are preferably one or more outer sealing rings, preferably a lowermost outer sealing ring at the lower end of said one or more side surface, where said side surface meet the bottom side of said stopper body. The side surfaces of the stopper body may also be differently shaped, e.g. comprising a number of planes, e.g. octagonal in cross section, in which case the inward directed surface or surfaces of said sealing elements follows the shape of said side surfaces, e.g. planes, to sealingly fit onto the stopper body.
The sealing elements preferably comprise a flexible material, e.g. elastomer, and may therefore also compensate for deviations in the inner diameter of the upper container section from the expected diameter. Such deviations can for instance be due to the tolerances applied in the production process of the container, e.g. when made of glass, e.g. with the interior of the neck being in an “as moulded” condition without being ground to a specific diameter.
The sealing elements are preferably provided on the one or more side surfaces of said stopper body. This is preferred as it allows for a smooth inner surface of the neck, which does not show any (abrupt) variation in diameter that may hamper pouring out the liquid preserved in said container.
In addition to preventing leakage of liquid and gas into and from the container, the sealing elements may be configured to withstand any overpressure that may be created in the container between liquid and stopper. The friction between the sealing elements and neck or stopper body is sufficient to withstand the upward pressure exerted by the liquid. Said sealing element may withstand said overpressure by maintaining, with the floatable element in the upper sealing position, the position of the stopper with respect to the neck of said container.
Alternatively, said sealing element may be configured such that when a large overpressure is created the stopper moves slightly upwards to regulate, that is, reduce, said overpressure. It is envisioned that in this situation the stopper is first pressed down firmly into said neck, so as to remove via the passage the air between stopper body and liquid and move said floatable element into the upper sealing position. When the user releases said stopper it moves slightly, e.g. a few millimetres, upwards while maintaining said floatable element in the upper sealing position. Thus no air enters during said upwards motion. The upwards motion may be effected e.g. by suitable choice of sealing element material or geometry or suitably chosen roughness of the inner surface of said neck, so as to obtain a suitable grip level of the sealing element. Said overpressure regulation motion may be performed with the sealing elements attached to the stopper body as well as with the sealing elements attached to the neck of the container. A deformation of the sealing element may as well lead to overpressure regulation, e.g. by deforming from an orientation radially upwards with the contact area of the sealing element on the stopper body lower than that on the neck to an orientation radially downwards with the contact area of the sealing element on the stopper body higher than that on the neck.
Said regulating upward motion may be effected with the sealing rings attached to the stopper body as well as with the sealing rings attached to the neck of the container.
The friction between sealing elements and neck or stopper body when the stopper has been inserted into the neck is however preferably limited to such a level that the stopper can still be removed by hand by pulling on said stopper at a grip portion, without use of additional tools, and without provision of an actuator for removal with the stopper.
Said grip portion is provided in an upper part of the stopper body and is gripped by the user in order to insert said stopper into said neck of the container and/or to take out said stopper from the neck of the container. When the stopper has been inserted into the neck of the container with the floatable element in the upper sealing position said grip portion extends above the top of the neck of the container.
The neck may comprise a minimum and maximum filling level indicator for indicating a minimum and maximum filling level of the container, wherein when container has been filled with liquid up to a level between the minimum and maximum filling level of the container the stopper can be pressed down into the neck of the container so that the floatable element is moved from said lower resting position to said upper sealing position. Said minimum and maximum filling level indicators aid the user of the liquid preservation device by indicating the limits within which by means of the stopper a good sealing can be achieved, which increases its practicality.
As to preserve the liquid therein the container should always be filled up to the neck of the container, it is preferred that no filling level indicators are provided on the body of the container.
Also, to achieve good insertion and sealing of the liquid, the neck of the container is preferably rotational symmetric and therefore does not contain a pouring spout, unlike the jar of EP2537775.
The volume between the minimum and maximum filling level is preferably small compared to the volume of the container up to the minimum filling level, e.g. 20% or less of that volume, so that the liquid preservation devices preserves a substantially fixed amount of liquid.
The container preferably has a volume up to nominal filling level of between 0.1 and 1.5 L, e.g. 0.375 L, in which case it can be used to preserve half a bottle of wine. The volume between the lower filling level indicator and upper filling level indicator is preferably between 0.01 L and 0.15 L, e.g. 50 ml_. The device is thus intended to be used for preservation of a substantially fixed amount of liquid.
The diameter of the neck of the container is preferably between 25 mm and 60 mm, which is wide enough to allow the liquid to be poured from another bottle into said container without spillage, while being sufficiently small to avoid jamming of the stopper during insertion. More preferably the diameter is at most 40 mm.
The height of the neck is preferably between 4 cm and 10 cm.
The body of the container can have any shape, e.g. cylindrical, spherical, pyramidal or a rectangular box.
Preferably a horizontal cross-section of the body of the container has an area that is larger than the area of a horizontal cross-section of the neck of said container, that is, the container has a narrower neck and a wider body. In this case the container is a bottle. In many bottles, e.g. most wine bottles and soda bottles, the body comprises a shoulder portion and a main body, and the transition from a narrow neck to a wide main body, possibly having constant horizontal dimensions, occurs at the shoulder portion. Preferably the container is configured in this way, comprising a narrower neck, a shoulder portion and wider main body. The wide body, possibly main body, may have constant horizontal dimensions, which may be a constant radius, but can also be a rectangle with constant length of its sides, resembling bottles used for storage of olive oil. However, the body or main body can also be tapered, with e.g. larger horizontal dimensions near the bottom thereof.
Note that the term ‘bottle’ does not limit the material out of which the bottle is made to glass. The bottle can comprise e.g. plastic, metal, stoneware as well as glass.
It is envisioned that e.g. wine, fruit juice, oil, dressings and fortified wine such as port, sherry and vermouth can be preserved in the present liquid preservation device. However, the device is suitable for any liquid, in particular for any liquid that degrades through contact with air.
The stopper may be provided in a set together with a plurality of containers which vary in the liquid volume they can contain, yet with similar necks all suited to cooperate with the stopper, so that when an amount of liquid is to be preserved a container with a volume suitable for that amount can be chosen.
The container can be made out of various materials, e.g. comprising glass, metal and/or plastic.
Preferably at least part of the container neck is at least semi-transparent or transparent, so that when the container is filled with liquid up to the neck of the container the liquid level in the container can be seen through said neck.
As UV-radiation negatively impacts the colour of certain liquids, the container may comprise a material opaque to UV-radiation, said material configured such that absorption of UV-radiation by said liquid is prevented.
Preferably at least a part of the exterior of the container is frosted, e.g. when the container is made of glass, or matted, e.g. when the container is made of plastic, to facilitate writing on said bottle with chalk or pencil, e.g. for indicating the contents of the container. Preferably the frosted or matted part of the exterior is configured such that the writings can be removed again by rubbing or rinsing the exterior of the container.
Preferably the distance between the top side of the neck of the container and the nominal filling level is sufficient to enable the neck of the container to guide the stopper as it is pushed down into the neck of the container. Placing the nominal filling level at a distance from the top side of the container neck, said distance at least a few centimeters, reduces the risk of the stopper being positioned into the neck of the container at an angle to the vertical. Such a tilted position is detrimental to the preservation of the liquid, as air can remain trapped between the stopper and liquid or the sealing between the container and stopper may not seal properly. Tilting should therefore be avoided. An neck of the container of sufficient length prevents said tilting to a large extent, as the maximum tilt the stopper can attain is reduced more and more as the stopper is pressed down into the container.
The length of the stopper is longer than the distance between the top of the neck of the container and the nominal filling level, or, if provided, the minimum filling level, resulting in a grip portion that extends above the neck of the container when the stopper has been inserted into the container with the floatable element in the upper sealing position. By providing a grip portion that extends above the neck of the container the stopper can be taken out of said container, more particularly taken out by gripping said grip portion and pulling the stopper upwards.
If the stopper has been inserted fully into the neck of the container it will be difficult to remove. When the stopper has a length as described above and is used with a volume of liquid in said container between the minimum and maximum filling level it is however very difficult to press the stopper fully into the container, as as soon as the floatable element has moved to the sealing position the pressure exerted by the liquid opposes further insertion. The grip portion of the stopper body thus remains above the opening of the container neck.
Nevertheless, to prevent in all situations that a user inserts the stopper too deep into the neck said grip portion is preferably provided with an abutment at its upper end, for instance a radial protrusion with a diameter larger than the inner diameter of the neck. The abutment may also have a different shape, for example a sphere or a cross-like shape. The protrusion may be suitably shaped to aid removing the stopper from said container, e.g. by having a protrusion around which a user can wrap around his/her fingers in order to pull on said stopper.
The stopper comprises a passage through said stopper body from the top region to the bottom side thereof through which gas, e.g. air, can pass if said passage is not sealed by the floatable element.
The stopper body comprises an upper limiter and a lower limiter that protrude into said passage. Said lower and upper limiter thereby define within the passage confinement space in between said limiters. The air flowing through the passage from the bottom side to the top region of the stopper body thus flows through said confinement space.
Said passage may extend through the stopper body from the top side to the bottom side thereof, but may also extend from the outer side surface of said stopper body to the bottom side thereof.
In a former embodiment the passage runs along an axis from the top side to the bottom side of said stopper body. This axis may be the central longitudinal axis of the stopper body.
In a latter embodiment the passage runs partly along an axis, possibly a central longitudinal axis, from the top side to the bottom side of said stopper body, more particularly a lower section of said passage runs along said axis. An upper section of said passage may extend in a direction at an angle or even perpendicular to said axis. For instance, said upper section of said passage may split into several channels that run in radial directions and end at passage outlets provided in said outer side surface or outer side surfaces of the stopper body.
The passage may have a uniform diameter, but may also have wider and narrower sections. The passage above the upper limiter can have any diameter. For instance, the passage above the upper limiter may be relatively narrow, e.g. have a width corresponding to approximately 20 % of the diameter or width of said stopper body. Such a narrow passage in the top region of said stopper body preferably widens on approaching the top side of the stopper body, thus creating a conically shaped passage section, to prevent accidental sealing of the passage at the top side of said stopper body by a user.
The stopper body further comprises a floatable element confined in said confinement space by a lower and upper limiter provided in the passage. The upper and/or lower limiter may be formed by a reduction in the diameter of the passage, so that the floatable element cannot enter the narrower section of the passage. The upper and/or lower limiter may also take the form of rings protruding into the passage that only narrow the diameter of the passage along a short length.
The upper limiter may comprise a flexible material, e.g. a flexible inner sealing ring, which is in the upper sealing position sealingly contacted by the floatable element. The upward pressure exerted by the liquid on the floatable element pushes said floatable element firmly into the flexible inner sealing ring. In response, said flexible inner sealing ring will deform elastically, thereby increasing the contact area between inner sealing ring and floatable element. Thus the sealing of the passage is improved and in particular the entry of ambient gas, e.g. ambient air, into the confinement space is prevented.
To further improve said sealing of the passage, the flexible inner sealing ring can have various shapes, for instance a concave bottom side and convex upper side with curvature substantially equal to the curvature of the floatable element. In this case the floatable element can for instance be a ball, with the curvature of the inner sealing ring equal to curvature of said ball.
Said flexible part of said upper limiter can however also have a shape different from a sealing ring. For instance, said upper limiter may be made entirely out of a flexible material.
The bottom side of the upper limiter may have a shape complementary to the of the shape of the part of the floatable element that pushes against the upper limiter, e.g. the floatable element is a ball and the bottom side of the upper limiter is concave with a curvature substantially equal to the curvature of the ball, so as to prevent air from being trapped between the top of said confinement space and the floatable element in its sealing position.
The lower limiter may also comprise a flexible material, e.g. allowing for the removal of floatable element out of the confinement space.
The confinement space can be positioned in any part of the stopper, e.g. near the top or in the middle of the stopper. The confinement space is however preferably positioned in the lower part of the passage, e.g. so that the lower limiter may be part of the bottom side of the stopper body. With the confinement space in the lower part of the passage little liquid is contained in said passage when the stopper is inserted in the container with the floatable element in the sealing position.
Preferably the volume of the floatable element is smaller but similar to the confinement space, resulting in a distance between the lower resting position and upper sealing position that is small relative to the size, e.g. diameter or width, of the floatable element. In this way little liquid is contained in the confinement space when the stopper is inserted in the container with the floatable element in the sealing position.
Moreover, with a width of the floatable element smaller but similar to the width of the confinement space, said confinement space acts as a guide to the floatable element during upwards motion thereof to the upper sealing position. As the confinement space is narrow, the floatable element can in response to a rising liquid level that reaches said floatable element only move upwards towards the upper limiter. Said narrow confinement space thus aids in aligning said floatable element with respect to the upper limiter, which alignment in turn facilitates the formation of a good seal.
This may be especially relevant when the floatable element is not rotation symmetric under any angle, that is, the floatable element is not a ball. Rotation of said floatable element is limited by said narrow confinement space, thus leading the floatable element to maintain substantially the same vertical orientation during upwards and downwards motion. When a small tilt of the floatable element with respect to the vertical does occur, said floatable element may further be guided back into its vertical orientation by a suitably shaped upper limiter.
As described above, the floatable element can take the shape of a ball, e.g. a hollow ball.
An advantage of the use of such a spherical floatable element is that after any rotation thereof the area of said floatable element that pushes against the upper limiter has the same shape and can therefore always be complementary to the suitably shaped bottom side of the upper limiter.
However, other shapes of the floatable element may be chosen, which may in the sealing position seal the passage to a higher degree. For instance, said floatable element may have a conical shape at the top that wedges itself into the upper limiter. Preferably such a floatable element with concave bottom side is combined with an upper limiter comprising a flexible inner sealing ring.
The shape of the floatable element may also be chosen such that the lower portion has the largest buoyancy, e.g. by said floatable element having a broad bottom and narrowing in upward direction.
Preferably the bottom side of the floatable element is provided with at least a small curvature, as such curvature prevents air bubbles from being trapped underneath the floatable element. A conical shape of the top of the floatable element can be combined with a broad bottom side with a small curvature, leading to a floatable element that is approximately hazelnutshaped.
To increase the buoyancy of the floatable element a width of the floatable element, and a width of the confinement space close to the width of the stopper body can be chosen. The width of said floatable element is thus also comparable to the inner diameter of the neck of the container, e.g. the floatable element has a width that is at least half of the diameter of said neck.
It is preferred that the buoyancy of the floatable element is such that when said floatable element is pressed down to the level of the liquid in the container said floatable element is partly, e.g. with half of its volume, immersed into said liquid. By being partially immersed in to the liquid, the amount of air left in the confinement space when the floatable element reaches the upper sealing position is minimized.
In order to reach said buoyancy the mass density of the floatable element may be chosen such as to suit the liquid to be preserved. For instance to preserve oil a floatable element with a larger mass density may be chosen than for preservation of wine. The mass density of the floatable element can be adjusted e.g. through the choice of materials comprised in said floatable element or, if said floatable element is hollow, through the choice of an appropriate wall or shell thickness. Besides mass density, the volume or shape of the floatable element may be chosen such as to suit the liquid to be preserved.
The floatable element is configured such that its weight moves it down to the bottom of the confinement space when it is either away from the container or placed inside the container with the floatable element and above the liquid level. It thus has a density higher than that of air or other gasses. When filling the container with liquid up to the nominal filling level and then inserting and pressing down the stopper into the upper cylinder section, the floatable element starts to float on the liquid when it reaches said liquid level. When the stopper is pressed down further the floatable element will move upwards relative to the stopper body to the top of the confinement space. When the floatable element has reached the top of the confinement space it seals the passage. An example of a floatable element that fulfils these requirements is a ping-pong ball.
The floatable element may comprise multiple parts. For instance, said floatable element may comprise multiple floatable parts, e.g. two hollow balls on top of each other. Such an embodiment with multiple floatable parts may be chosen to obtain a desired, e.g. larger, buoyancy.
Moreover, the floatable element may comprise multiple parts, of which some are floatable parts and others are sealing parts. Thus, the floating and sealing functions of the floatable element may be found in different parts of said floatable element. For instance, the floatable element may comprise a lower floatable part, e.g. a disk-shaped floatable part, with an upper sealing part, e.g. a dome-shaped sealing part on top of said disk-shaped floatable part.
Said lower floatable part and upper sealing part may form a joint element within said confinement space.
Said lower floatable part and upper sealing part may also be separate elements within said confinement space, wherein when liquid level reaches the floatable part said floatable part pushes said sealing part, possibly assisted by an overpressure, upwards against the upper limiter so as to seal the passage.
Said floatable part and sealing part may also be separate elements in a confinement space that comprises multiple compartments, e.g. a lower compartment for the floatable part and an upper compartment for the sealing part, wherein said floatable part comprises an upwards protrusion that, when the floatable part moves upwards to an upper limiter in said lower compartment, pushes said sealing part upwards against the upper limiter at the top of the confinement space. A floatable element comprising a floatable part and a sealing part may be advantageous, as the different requirements for floating and sealing can be divided between these parts. For instance, said sealing part may comprise a flexible material that creates a good seal, while for said floatable part a lightweight material can be chosen. Moreover, instead of the upper limiter comprising flexible parts, as has been described above, said sealing part of the floatable element may comprise flexible parts that seal against a rigid upper limiter.
As the floatable element can move within the confinement space, there is in any position of the floatable element except the sealing position sufficient space between the floatable element and the confinement space walls for air to pass around said floatable element. For instance, when the stopper has just been inserted on the top of the neck, air can enter the passage and flow from under the floatable element to the sides thereof and then above the floatable element and subsequently leave the confinement space at the top thereof to flow through the passage to the ambient.
The passage for the flow of air from under the floatable element to the sides thereof may be provided in various ways. For instance, in some embodiments the floatable element may seal the passage when it is in the passing position. In this case pressing down the stopper creates an overpressure between the liquid and the stopper, so that the floatable element will be slightly lifted, thereby unsealing the passage. Such an embodiments requires a confinement space of sufficient height to allow said floatable element to move upwards in response to said overpressure without sealing said passage at the upper limiter. Alternatively, the passage may comprise additional apertures extending upwards from the bottom of the stopper through the lower limiter to the confinement space within said passage. Such apertures may be separated from the passage or take the form of protrusions in said passage. Air can then flow from the space between stopper and liquid through said air apertures to the sides of the floatable element.
Preferably the exterior surface on the bottom of the stopper body is concave to facilitate the removal of gas, e.g. air, trapped between liquid and the stopper via the passage. Said concave shape guides gas bubbles to the passage and thus prevents pockets of air from remaining trapped between stopper and liquid.
Preferably the stopper body comprises two or more parts and said stopper body can be disassembled into said stopper body parts and subsequently reassembled. The stopper body may for instance comprise a top stopper body that extends from the top of the stopper body to substantially halfway the confinement space in the passage and a bottom stopper body that extends from halfway said confinement space to the bottom of the stopper body. By disassembly the floatable element may be removed from the confinement space. The stopper body may also for instance comprise a removable lower limiter, which may also allow removal of the floatable element from said confinement space.
Another embodiment comprises a top stopper body that extends from the top side of the stopper body to just above the upper limiter and a bottom stopper body that extends from above the upper limiter to the bottom side of said stopper body. In this embodiment the bottom stopper body may comprise all elements that enable sealing, such as the floatable element, upper and lower limiter and sealing elements, so that the bottom stopper body can be referred to as the active part. The top stopper body serves to aid in inserting and removing said active part, and can be denoted as the passive part. Said passive part preferably includes the gripping portion.
In an embodiment removing said floatable element from the bottom stopper body may require additional measures, such as a flexible lower limiter, that allows removal of floatable element by pushing, e.g. simply by hand, said floatable element out of the confinement space at the side of the lower limiter.
Disassembly, in any of the ways described above, may facilitate cleaning of said stopper body and/or said floatable element.
While with the jar of GB2508862 and a later expansion thereto, GB2508999, liquid can be poured out with the stopper still present in the jar by tilting said jar, this is not possible with the present liquid preservation device. In the present device the floatable element will remain in place in the upper sealing position, possibly assisted by an overpressure in the confinement space, also when the container with stopper is tilted. The stopper thus has to be fully removed in order to pour liquid out of said container.
The simplest way of removal of said stopper from the container is simply to pull on said stopper by hand. Once the stopper has been moved slightly upward an underpressure arises between the stopper and liquid, as no air can enter said volume. Said underpressure will lead to a movement of the floatable element from its upper sealing back towards its lower resting position in the confinement space. Air can therefore flow from the ambient through the passage and the confinement space to the liquid and thus remove the underpressure, which facilitates the further removal of the stopper.
As described above an upper limiter, possibly with flexible inner sealing ring, and floatable element may be configured such that the floatable element wedges itself into the upper limiter, which may complicate or prevent release of the floatable element from its sealing position during removal of the stopper from said container. Also, as the floatable element comes into contact with the liquid preserved in the container, the stickiness of said liquid may result in said floatable element sticking to upper limiter. Therefore an actuator can be used to facilitate the removal.
The actuator preferably comprises a rod in the passage of the stopper and a flexible rod suspension element connected to the stopper body to suspend the rod in said passage.
Said rod suspension element contains apertures to maintain said passage through the stopper body. By pressing on the upper end of said rod prior to or during removal of the stopper, the rod is moved further down into said passage and presses with its lower end the floatable element downwards away from its sealing position. As the floatable element no longer seals the passage air can flow via the apertures in said rod suspension element through the passage from the top side to the bottom of said stopper. Thus the underpressure between liquid and stopper is prevented or cancelled and the stopper can be further removed from said container.
The invention also relates to a method to preserve a substantially fixed liquid volume, said liquid volume part of a larger liquid volume, e.g. 0.375 L of wine contained in a bottle with 0.75 L wine. Said method comprises a liquid preservation device as described herein and comprises the steps of: - removing the stopper from said container - filling the container of the liquid preservation device with liquid from the larger liquid volume up to substantially the nominal filling level, e.g. to a level between the minimum and maximum filling level; - inserting the stopper in the neck of the container; - pressing down said stopper until the floatable element seals the passage by moving from the lower resting position to the upper sealing position, thereby removing substantially all gas, e.g. air, between the stopper and the liquid in the container and substantially sealing said liquid from infiltration of ambient gas, e.g. ambient air, via said passage.
When at least part of the liquid preserved in the liquid preservation device is to be consumed, the method further comprises the steps of: - gripping the stopper at the grip portion thereof; - pulling the stopper up until the stopper has been fully taken out of the neck of the container - pouring at least part of said liquid out of the container.
When an actuator mechanism for the removal of the stopper is provided, the method comprises the additional step of pressing down the vertical rod of the actuator mechanism to thereby push down the floatable element away from its sealing position. Said step is performed prior to or during pulling up of the stopper.
It is envisioned that for instance directly after opening a liquid volume, e.g. a bottle of wine, the part of the liquid volume of which it is foreseen that it will not be consumed is poured into the container of the liquid preservation device and is sealed as described above, after which the rest of the liquid volume is consumed.
The invention will now be discussed with reference to the drawings. In the drawings:
Fig. 1 shows a side view of a liquid preservation device according to the invention,
Fig. 2 shows a vertical cross-section of a liquid preservation device according to the invention with the floatable element in the lower resting position,
Fig. 3 shows a vertical cross-section of a liquid preservation device according to the invention with the floatable element in the upper sealing position,
Fig. 4 shows a bottom view of a stopper according to the invention,
Fig. 5 shows a vertical cross-section of a stopper according to the invention,
Fig. 6 shows a vertical cross-section of a stopper according to the invention,
Fig. 7 shows an exploded side view of a stopper according to the invention,
Fig. 8 shows a vertical cross-section of a stopper according to the invention with an actuator mechanism,
Fig. 9 shows a vertical cross-section of the stopper according to the invention with an actuator mechanism,
Fig. 10 shows a vertical cross-section of another embodiment of a stopper according to the invention,
Fig. 11 shows a side view of the stopper of Fig. 10, wherein said stopper is disassembled, Fig. 12 shows the stopper embodiment of Fig. 10 inserted into a neck of a container according to the invention.
With reference to the drawings embodiments and optional features of the liquid preservation device will be described.
The liquid preservation device 1 comprises a unitary container 3 and a stopper 2. The container comprises a neck 32 that is open at the top 38, and a body comprising a shoulder 36 underneath said neck and fixed to said neck and a main body 37 underneath said shoulder and fixed to said shoulder.
The neck 32 comprises a nominal filling level indicator 33 for indicating a nominal filling level of the container. In the embodiment of Figure 1 the neck comprises an maximum filling level indicator 35 and minimum level indicator 34 as well for indicating a minimum and maximum filling level of the container.
In the shown embodiment the main body of said container is symmetric under any rotation around a central longitudinal axis and slightly tapered, that is, the diameter of said main body increases towards the bottom of said container. However, at any height of said main body its width exceeds the diameter of the neck of the container. The shoulder provides the widening that connects the smaller diameter of the neck to the larger diameter of the main body.
In the shown embodiment the main body of the container comprises an outer surface 31 that is matted or frosted. Onto said matted or frosted outer surface can be written, e.g. with pencil or chalk. Said writings are preferably removable by rubbing or rinsing said outer surface with water.
In Figure 1 the stopper is partly inserted into the neck of the container via the opening in the top 38 thereof. In this embodiment a grip portion 26 with abutment 204 is provided.
Figure 2 shows the liquid preservation device after the container has been filled with liquid 4 up to the nominal filling level as indicated by the nominal filling level indicator 33. The stopper 2 has been inserted into the neck of the container and pushed downwards. The bottom side of said stopper is still above the liquid level though. In the shown embodiment the stopper will be provided only into the neck of the container.
In this embodiment the main body of the container comprises a recess 39 in the center of the bottom side thereof, similar to the punt often provided in wine bottles.
The stopper comprises a stopper body 20 with an axis 22, in the shown embodiment a central longitudinal axis, from the top side 201 to the bottom side 202 of said stopper body. A passage 23 for air through said stopper body along said axis from the top side to the bottom side thereof is provided. Said passage comprises an upper limiter 241 and a lower limiter 242 that together define a confinement space 25 within said passage between said upper limiter 241 and lower limiter 242. A floatable element 24 is provided within said confinement space 25. Said floatable element 24 is movable within said confinement space along said central longitudinal axis between an lower resting position, in which the floatable element lies on the lower limiter 242, and an upper sealing position in which said floatable element lies against said upper limiter 241. The embodiment of Figure 2 shows the floatable element 24 in the lower resting position, while in Figure 3 the floatable element is substantially in the higher sealing position.
Note that as the passage 23 extends through the stopper body from the top side to the bottom side thereof, the upper limiter 241 and lower limiter 242 are provided with at least one opening through which air and liquid can pass.
In the embodiments of Figure 2 and 3 the confinement space 25 is provided in a lower part of the passage 23, more towards the bottom side 202 of the stopper body . As a result in the resting position the floatable element 24 extends below the bottom side 202 of the stopper body. Thus, as shown in Figure 2, as the stopper 2 is pressed downwards further into the neck 32 of said container the floatable element will contact the liquid before it contacts the bottom of the stopper body 20.
In the embodiment of Figure 3 the lower limiter forms the bottom side of the stopper body. In Figure 2 the lower limiter is also provided close to the bottom side of the stopper.
In Figure 2 the upper limiter comprises a flexible inner sealing ring 29 that is in the upper sealing position sealingly contacted by the floatable element.
In the embodiment shown in Figure 2 the bottom side of the upper limiter 241 has a shape complementary to the shape of the floatable element 24. The floatable element is a ball and the bottom side of the upper limiter has a curvature substantially equal to the curvature of said ball.
In the shown embodiment the volume of the confinement space 25 is, as is preferable, only slightly larger than the volume of the floatable element.
The stopper body is provided with one or more sealing elements 21 on the outer side surfaces of the stopper body 20. Said sealing elements have a circular outer side surface with a diameter substantially equal to the cylindrical inner surface of the neck. In this way the sealing elements 21 seal in the neck in order to prevent the leakage of gas and liquid between the stopper 2 and the neck 32 of the container 1.
In the shown embodiment the stopper body 20 has a cylindrical outer side surface and the sealing elements 21 are two outer sealing rings. The diameter of the stopper body is thus somewhat smaller than the inner diameter of the neck of the container, with the outer sealing rings being provided onto the stopper body to span said difference in diameter. Thus in this embodiment when the stopper is inserted into said container only the sealing elements of said stopper body contact the neck of the container.
In the shown embodiment the lowermost outer sealing ring 21 is provided at the bottom of said side surface of the stopper body, with the bottom side of said lowermost outer sealing ring levelled with the bottom side of the stopper body. This is a strongly preferred embodiment of said outer sealing rings, as in this way air bubbles between said stopper, more particularly between the lowermost outer sealing ring thereof, the container and the liquid are prevented when the stopper has been pressed down with the floatable element in the upper sealing position.
The upper outer sealing ring 21 aids in inserting the stopper vertically into said neck.
As shown in Figure 3 when the stopper 2 has been pressed down into the container 1 with liquid 4, the floatable element 24, being in the upper sealing position, seals the passage and the confinement space 25 below the floatable element is filled with liquid.
Also shown in Figure 3 is that in said upper sealing position the grip portion 26 extends above the top of the opening of the neck. While the grip portion 26 is large enough to allow removal of said stopper 2 from the container 1, it still creates a compact liquid preservation device of which the stopper does not significantly increase the height of said device.
In the embodiment in Figure 2 and 3 the grip portion 26 comprises an abutment 204 at the top side of the stopper body 20, said abutment in the shown embodiment being a radial protrusion of said stopper body with a diameter exceeding the inner diameter of the neck of the container, so as to prevent a user from inserting the stopper completely into the container.
Figure 4 shows the passage 23 extending through the bottom side of the stopper body. In this embodiment the passage comprises radial protrusions 27 that extend from the bottom side of the stopper body through the lower limiter to the confinement space, so as to aid in removal of air from underneath said bottom side of the stopper body.
In the embodiment shown in Figure 5 the upper limiter 241 comprises a flexible inner sealing ring 29 provided on top of a non-flexible upper limiter part. The bottom side of said non-flexible upper limiter part has a curvature that is substantially equal to the curvature of the ball floatable element 24. The non-flexible part of the upper limiter 241 is also rather small, protruding only slightly into the passage. The upper side of the non-flexible part of the upper limiter is tilted upwards towards the center of the passage 23, so as to match the curvature of the conically shaped flexible inner sealing ring 29. The curvature of the conical shape is substantially equal to the curvature of the ball floatable element.
In the embodiment of Figure 6 the floatable element 24 has a hazelnut-shape, with a broad bottom side and a pointy top end. The upper limiter 241 comprises a flexible inner sealing ring 29 provided on top of a non-flexible upper limiter part. The bottom side of said non-flexible upper limiter part has a curvature that is substantially equal to the curvature of the area of the hazelnut-shaped floatable element that lies against said bottom side of the non-flexible upper limiter part. The non-flexible part of the upper limiter is also rather small, protruding only slightly into the passage. The upper side of the non-flexible part of the upper limiter is inclined upwards, so as to match the curvature of the conically shaped flexible inner sealing ring. The curvature of the conical shape is substantially equal to the curvature of the area of the hazelnut-shaped floatable element that contacts said flexible inner sealing ring.
In the embodiment of Figure 7 the stopper body comprises an top stopper body 207 that extends from the top side of the stopper body 20 to halfway the confinement space 25 and a bottom stopper body 208 that extends from halfway to confinement space to the bottom side of said stopper body. The stopper body parts can be disassembled and reassembled. Upon disassembly the floatable element, here a floatable ball, can be taken out of said confinement space of the stopper body, e.g. for cleaning.
In the embodiment of Figure 8 an actuator is provided to assist in removal of said stopper 2 from the container 1. The actuator comprises a vertical rod 205 provided in the position shown in Figure 8 in the passage 23 above the upper limiter 241. In the shown embodiment the vertical rod is provided along the central longitudinal axis of said stopper body. The vertical rod is suspended from a flexible rod suspension element 206 that is provided into said passage 23 and connected to said passage. In the shown embodiment the flexible rod suspension element is circular with a diameter equal to the diameter of the passage above the upper limiter and with an opening in the center of said suspension element through which the vertical rod extends. In the non-engaged position of Figure 8 the lower end of the vertical rod 205 is not in contact with the floatable element 24.
In the engaged position of Figure 9 the vertical rod 205 is pressed down so that the lower end thereof extends through the upper side of the upper limiter 241, so that the vertical rod 205 contacts the floatable element 24 in the upper sealing position. The vertical rod presses the floatable element downwards, thereby opening the passage 23 through the stopper body 20. In this way during removal of the stopper an underpressure between stopper, container and liquid can either be prevented or removed, which facilitates the removal. A preferred embodiment of the stopper, shown in Figures 10-12, comprises an top stopper body 207 that extends from the top side of the stopper body 20 to just above the upper limiter and a bottom stopper body 208 that extends from above the upper limiter to the bottom side of said stopper body. The stopper body parts can be disassembled and reassembled by means of a threaded connection 2071 shown in Figures 10-11. Other types of connections are however also possible, such as a bayonet mount or click-joint.
As the confinement space 25 with floatable element 24 and upper limiter 241 and lower limiter 242 is comprised in the bottom stopper body 208, it is possible to remove said top stopper body after insertion of the stopper into the container with the floatable element in the upper sealing position. This may lead to a more compact liquid preservation device, as with the top stopper body removed the stopper does not extend above the top of the neck anymore. Also, removing said top stopper body provides a way to remove said stopper from the container when the floatable element is stuck in the upper sealing position and no actuator is provided. After removing said upper stopper body, the user can push said floatable element downwards from its upper sealing position by hand, thereby allowing air to pass through the passage. After pushing down said floatable element the stopper body can be reassembled by re-attached the upper stopper body to said lower stopper body, after which said stopper can be pulled out of the container.
In this embodiment the lower limiter 242 is made of a flexible material, e.g. an elastomer. After disassembly the floatable element 24, here a floatable ball, can therefore be pushed out of said confinement space 25 by a user, e.g. for subsequent cleaning.
Moreover, in this embodiment it is envisioned that the top stopper body 207 comprises materials different from that of the bottom stopper body 208. For instance, the top stopper body 207 may comprise wood, cork or glass, giving said top stopper body an aesthetically pleasing look and making it pleasant to grip. The bottom stopper body may comprise e.g. plastic to allow said bottom stopper body to be washable in a dishwasher.
In the embodiment shown in Figures 10-12 the passage 23 of said stopper body 20 extends from the bottom side thereof to the top region and splits into radially oriented several channels 209 that lead to outlets 210 of the passage in the outer side surface of said stopper body. Said embodiment of the passage has the advantage that the small outlets on the side are not so easily noticed by the user, and may thus prevent misuse, accidently or willingly, of said device. For instance, a passage extending to the top side of said stopper body, such as the stopper of the preceding figures, may prompt a user to pour liquid into said passage in the stopper while said stopper is inserted into the container. When said outlets of the passage are provided at the side surface or side surfaces of the stopper body, the user will be less prone to apply said device in a wrong way. While the outlets of the passage are in this embodiment provided approximately halfway the top side and bottom side of said stopper body, they may be placed higher or lower as desired as long as the outlets are above the upper limiter.
In the embodiment shown above, the horizontal orientation of said passage outlets 210 in the upper region of the stopper body prevent access to the floatable element 24 through the passage 23, e.g. with a rod or pencil, when the stopper body is assembled. This may further prevent misuse. However, in an alternative embodiment the passage extends to the top side of the stopper body, which allows, in combination of the flexible lower limiter of Figures IQ-12, to remove said floatable element simply by pushing on said element with a pencil, stick or handle of a small spoon, e.g. for cleaning.
Thus, embodiments of the invention are also envisioned in which the stopper body is unitary with a passage extending to a top outlet in the top side of said stopper body and wherein said stopper body has a flexible lower limiter, said embodiment being adapted to allow removal of the floatable element by pushing said floatable element downwards out of the stopper body by means of an elongated rod being inserted into said passage from the top outlet thereof. Said elongated rod may be provided with the liquid preservation device.
As shown in Figure 12, said passage outlets 210 may be below the top of the neck of the container when the stopper has been inserted into said neck. However, as the only seal between the stopper and the neck is provided by the sealing element 21 at the lower end of the outer side surface of the stopper body, the distance at the position of said outlets between the top stopper body 208 and neck of the container is sufficient for air to flow through.
Although the sealing element between the stopper and neck is the only sealing element, the top stopper body 207 of the stopper body 20, having a diameter only slightly smaller than the inner diameter of said neck 32 of the container, acts to guide the stopper body during insertion. The width of said stopper body, together with its length, as has been described above, restricts the orientation of said stopper during orientation to a substantially vertical orientation. Thus tilting of said stopper, possibly leading to a bad seal, is prevented by said geometry of the stopper body, in particular by the geometry of the upper stopper body.
Moreover, in the embodiment of Figures 10-12 the sealing element 21 is formed by two adjacent rings provided around the cylindrical outer side surface of said stopper body, said rings being placed at the lowest possible position on said outer side surface where said side surface meets the bottom side of said stopper body and extending slightly downwards from said bottom side of the stopper body. The inner side of said downwards extending inner sealing rings is slanted with increasing width of the central aperture of said ring in the downward direction. Similarly to the embodiment in which the bottom side of the stopper body is concave, such a slanted inner sealing ring extending below the bottom side of the stopper body facilitates the removal of gas and prevents remaining air bubbles.
In this embodiment the upper limiter 241 and sealing element 21 are formed out of a single piece of flexible material, e.g. an elastomer. Thus the upper limiter 241 comprises a flexible inner sealing ring, said flexible inner sealing ring having the characteristics of the abovementioned inner flexible sealing ring.
Note that in the embodiment of Figures 10-12 the volume is the confinement space 25 is only slightly larger than the floatable element 24, so that little liquid is contained within the confinement space with the floatable element in the upper sealing position.
The confinement space 25 is only slightly wider than the floatable element 24, so that in response to a liquid level that reaches the floatable element the confinement space guides said floatable element towards said upper limiter 241 and thus to the upper sealing position. The narrow confinement space therefore aids in aligning said floatable element with respect to the upper limiter in order to create a good seal.
In the embodiment of Figures 10-12 the sealing element 21, upper limiter 241 and inner surface of the confinement space 25 are made out of a single piece of flexible material, e.g. plastic or rubber. The remaining parts of the lower stopper body 208 are also unitary, e.g. of more rigid material, e.g. plastic. It is envisioned that the lower stopper body including the flexible material piece is made by two-component injection moulding. This manufacturing method has the advantage that the two components are thoroughly sealed to each other and thus reduces or may even entirely prevent dirt accumulation in between the two pieces, thus leading to a hygienic stopper body that is easy to clean.
Said stopper body 20 preferably comprises plastic, glass, stoneware, wood, cork or metal. Flexible parts preferably comprise elastomer, while the floatable element 24 preferably comprises plastic, glass or metal.
Claims (32)
Priority Applications (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| NL2015208A NL2015208B1 (en) | 2015-07-22 | 2015-07-22 | Liquid preservation device and method. |
| PCT/NL2016/050550 WO2017014638A1 (en) | 2015-07-22 | 2016-07-22 | Liquid preservation device and method |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| NL2015208A NL2015208B1 (en) | 2015-07-22 | 2015-07-22 | Liquid preservation device and method. |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| NL2015208B1 true NL2015208B1 (en) | 2017-02-08 |
Family
ID=55077577
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| NL2015208A NL2015208B1 (en) | 2015-07-22 | 2015-07-22 | Liquid preservation device and method. |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| NL (1) | NL2015208B1 (en) |
Citations (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US5988415A (en) * | 1994-02-23 | 1999-11-23 | Paul And Sara Garbarini 1989 Family Trust | Bottle flow controller |
| EP2537775A1 (en) * | 2010-02-16 | 2012-12-26 | Ernest Von Der Beeck I Romagosa | Recipient with sliding lid and vacuum top |
| GB2508862A (en) * | 2012-12-13 | 2014-06-18 | Tlc Design Ltd | Piston incorporating valve controlling flow of fluid from storage cylinder |
-
2015
- 2015-07-22 NL NL2015208A patent/NL2015208B1/en not_active IP Right Cessation
Patent Citations (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US5988415A (en) * | 1994-02-23 | 1999-11-23 | Paul And Sara Garbarini 1989 Family Trust | Bottle flow controller |
| EP2537775A1 (en) * | 2010-02-16 | 2012-12-26 | Ernest Von Der Beeck I Romagosa | Recipient with sliding lid and vacuum top |
| GB2508862A (en) * | 2012-12-13 | 2014-06-18 | Tlc Design Ltd | Piston incorporating valve controlling flow of fluid from storage cylinder |
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| MM | Lapsed because of non-payment of the annual fee |
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