US3797112A

US3797112A - Gas relieving device for bottles

Info

Publication number: US3797112A
Application number: US00262351A
Authority: US
Inventors: R Paulson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1972-06-13
Filing date: 1972-06-13
Publication date: 1974-03-19
Anticipated expiration: 1991-03-19

Abstract

A gas relieving device for beverage bottles having the contents thereof under a gas pressure and in which the bottles are sealed by a plastic stopper or closure. The device comprises a lower lance section for piercing a plastic stopper. The lance section is threaded to receive a cap section which with the lance section provides an adjustable valve arrangement.

Description

United States Patent 1191 Paulson Mar. 19, 1974 GAS RELIEVING DEVICE FOR BOTTLES 2.414.911 1/1947 Temple 222/81 4,250 [76] Inventor Pulls, 310 Valhalla i338 3'32 il ij 2 2 2 8l (311., Crystal Lake, In. 60014 [22] Filed: June 13, 1972 Primary Examiner-Othell M. Simpson Assistant Examiner-Gary L. Smith [21] Appl' 262351 Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Edward L. Benno [52] US. Cl 30/366, 30/16, 285/13 [57] ABSTRACT 51 Int. Cl 1367b 7/24 1 E Field of Search 3O/6 l 63 16 305 315, A gas relieving device for beverage bottles having the 30/366; 81/347, 348, 85, contents thereof under a gas pressure and in which the 28 5 H 3 bottles are sealed by a plastic stopper or closure. The device comprises a lower lance section for piercing a [56] References Cited plastic stopper. The lance section is threaded to re- UNITED STATES PATENTS ceivefla cap section which with the lance section provides an adjustable valve arrangement. 2,571,590 10/1951 Logic 30/61 X 321,905 7/1885 Lutomski 285/ 13 6 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures I l l 15 H V I0 l *7 l2 l 22 I i l3 I L,

. GAS RELIEVING DEVICE FOR BOTTLES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE- PREFERRED E BODIMENTS All of the embodiments of the invention are intended Many carbonated or fermented beverages are pres- 5 for use with a hollow Plastic Closure Such as Show y ently sealed inbottles by a hollow plastic stopper or closure which by virtue of the gas pressure within the closure is firmly secured against easy removal from the bottle. Various forms of needle or lance devices are 1 I SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The primary object of the present invention is to provide a simple-efficient device for relievinggas pressure from a beverage bottle which is sealed by a hollow plastic closure member. That object is attained in the present invention by providing a lance member with a lower pointed end and an upper threaded periphery. An axial passageway is provided in the lance member and extends from the upper end thereof to a position spaced upwardly from the lower end. The lower end of the axial passageway is intersected by a radial passageway which opens to opposite surfaces of the lance member. The lance member about the outer terminous of the radial passageway is formed to substantially prevent any plastic fragments which may be sheared or fractured from the bottle closure from entering and blocking the radial passageway as the lance member is either pushed through or pulled from the upper surface of a hollow plastic beverage bottle closure.

The invention further comprises a cap member which is internally threaded to receive the upper end of the lance member. The cap member provides a simple arrangement for manual insertion of the lance member through a hollow plastic closure, and further, in coop eration with the lance member provides a valve for adjusting the rate at which gas from the bottle is permitted to escape.

Other objects and features of the invention will be apparent upon a perusal of the drawing and hereinafter following detailed description.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of one embodiment of the invention with a closure and the neck portion of a bottle shown in cross section;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the emway of example at 10 in FIG. 1. The closure 10 comprises an upper wall 11, a depending annular skirt portion 12, and a depending cylindrical portion 13. In a bottle sealing arrangement, the cylindrical portion 13 O is positioned within the neck of a bottle 14 and the skirt portion 12 is disposed about the open upper end of the bottle 14. Whenthe contents of the bottle 14 include a gas under pressure, the gas will urge the cylindrical portion 13 against the neck of the bottle 14 to tightly seal the bottle 14. Such a closure may be removed from the bottle with relative ease when the gas pressure in the bottle isrelieved.

The embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 1 for relieving gas pressure within the bottle 14 comprises a lance member 15 and a cap member 16 both of which are circular in a transverse cross section. The lower portion of the lance member 15 is formed to taper from an annular shoulder 17 to a sharp point 18 at the lower end. The upper portion of the lance member 15 is provided with external threads 19. The upper portion of the lance member 15 is provided with a passageway 20 which is open at the upper end of the lance member 15. The lower end of the passageway 20 opens into a relatively small axial passageway 21. The lower end of the axial passageway 21 opens into a radial passageway 22. The radial passageway 22 extends through the lower tapered portion of the lance member 15 and each end of the radial passageway 22 is rounded or chamferedto terminate on the lower tapered surface of the lance member 15 without any sharp corners.

The cap member 16 is formed in a convenient cylindrical shape. An internally threaded recess 24 is provided in the lower end of the cap member 16 to receive the threaded upper portion of the lance member 15. The circumferential surface of the cap member 16 is further provided with a knurled portion for easy manual rotation of the cap member 16.

In use, the cap member 16 is threaded substantially onto lance member 15, the point 18 is applied to the upper wall 11 of the closure 10, and a downward pressure is applied on the cap member 16 to press the lance member 15 through the wall 11 until the radial passageway 22 is within the cylindrical portion 13 of the closure 10. The cooperation between the threads of the lance member 15 and cap member 16 is not gas tight, and a small amount of gas under pressure may then flow through radial passageway 22, axial passageway 21, passageway 20, and between the threads of the lance member 15 and cap member 16 to escape from the bottle. An increased rate of gas flow is produced by partially or completely unthreading the cap member 16 from the lance member 15. When the gas pressure in the bottle is fully relieved, the lance member 15 with the cap member 16 threaded thereon is withdrawn from theclosure 10. The closure 10 may then be easily pulled from the bottle. The rounded or chamfered ends of the radial passageway 22 prevent plastic fragments from being sheared from the wall 11 to block the passageway 22 in either the insertion or withdrawal of the lance member 15 from the closure 10.

The other embodiments of the invention shown in FIGS. 3-6 are substantially identical in construction and operation to the first embodiment except as described hereinafter.

The embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 3 differs from the first embodiment in the cap member 16 being provided with an elastic disk 25, and in the lance member 26 having a shorter upper threaded portion and a knurled or longitudinally grooved area 27. The disk 25 provides a gas tight seal between the lance member 26 and the cap member 16 when the lance member 26 is seated against the disk 25. The disk 25 may be formed of any suitable material such as rubber. The area 27 will grip the side walls of the opening pierced by the lance member 26 in the wall 11 of the closure to prevent the lance member 26 from rotating in the closure 10 as the cap member 16 is rotated to overcome the initial frictional gripping force between the disk and the upper surface of the lance member 26.

The embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 4 comprises a cap member 30 and a lance member 31. The cap member 30 is formed with an integral broadened top 32 to distribute the reaction force encountered in pushing the lance member 31 through the wall 11 of a closure 10 over a wider area of a persons hand.

The lower portion of the lance member 31 above the tapered tip portion 33 is substantially cylindrically shaped. The cylindrical portion of the lance member 31 substantially immediately above the tip portion 33 is formed as a short cylindrical section 34 of reduced diameter. The sidewalls of the cylindrical portion above and below the section 34 are rounded or chamfered to avoid shearing any plastic fragments from the closure 10 either in projecting in or withdrawing the lance member 31 from the wall 11 of the closure 10. The radial passageway of the lance member 31 is formed through the cylindrical section 34. If desired, the embodiment of FIG. 4 may include a sealing disk such as disk 25 of FIG. 3.

The lance member 40 of FIGS. 5 and 6 may be used with a cap member such as shown in FIGS. 1 or 4. The lower portion of the lance member 40 is formed as a substantially cylindrical section 41 terminating in a tapered tip section 42. A portion of the cylindrical section 41 intermediate its ends is formed with removed wall portions to form a plate section 43 which has a width equal to the diameter of the section 41 and a thickness slightly less than the diameter of the axial passageway 44 of the lance member 40. The described construction results in the lower end of the axial passageway 44 being open as a slot 45 which extends longitudinally of and through the plate section 43. When the lance member 40 with a cap member threaded thereon is projected through the wall 11 of a closure 10, the lance member 40 will easily enter and pass through the wall 11, and the slot 45 is efiectively removed from any plastic fragments which may be sheared from the wall 11 of the closure 10 by the lance member 40. The lance member 40 may also be easily removed from the closure 10, and again, with the slot 45 effectively removed from any plastic fragments which may be sheared from the closure 10 as the lance member 40 is withdrawn.

Having described the invention, it is to be understood that changes can be made in the described embodiments by a person skilled in the art within the spirit and scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. A gas reliever device for a bottle having a hollow plastic closure comprising, a lance member formed to have a lower portion terminating in a pointed tip capable of piercing the upper wall of said closure and an externally threaded upper portion, a cap member formed to have an internally threaded recess in the lower end thereof, the threads of said lance member being formed to permit said cap member to be threaded over said lance member and to permit gas to escape between said threads, and said lance member further being formed to have passageway means extending longitudinally therethrough from the upper end of said lance member to the outer surface thereof above said pointed tip, said passageway means comprising an axial passageway extending from the upper end of said lance member to a radial passageway above said pointed tip, said radial passageway opening to the surface of said lance member, and sealing .means in said cap member to engage the upper surface of said lance member to seal the upper end of said axial passageway when said lance member is threaded into said cap member and against said sealing means.

2. A gas reliever device as defined in claim 1, and the ends of said radial passageway being rounded to prevent the ends of said radial passageway from shearing plastic fragments from said closure in the insertion and removal of said device from said closure.

3. A gas reliever device as defined in claim 1, wherein said lower portion of said lance member above said pointed tip is substantially cylindrically shaped and provided with a section of reduced diameter adjacent said pointed tip, the walls of the cylindrically shaped portion of said lower portion of said lance member adjacent said section of reduced diameter being rounded to prevent said walls from shearing plastic fragments from said closure in the insertion and removal of said device from said closure, and said radial passageway extending through said section of reduced diameter.

4. A gas reliever device as defined in claim 1 said lower portion of said lance member above said pointed tip being substantially cylindrically shaped and provided with a reduced section forming a plate having the width of said cylindrically shaped portion and a thickness less than the diameter of said axial passageway, and said axial passageway opening through said plate.

5. A gas reliever device as defined in claim 1, wherein the surface of said lower portion of said lance member above said radial passageway is knurled to prevent said lance member from rotating in said closure when said cap member is rotated.

6. A gas reliever as defined in claim 1, wherein said cap member is provided with a broadened top portion for manually inserting and removing said device from said closure.

Claims

1. A gas reliever device for a bottle having a hollow plastic closure comprising, a lance member formed to have a lower portion terminating in a pointed tip capable of piercing the upper wall of said closure and an externally threaded upper portion, a cap member formed to have an internally threaded recess in the lower end thereof, the threads of said lance member being formed to permit said cap member to be threaded over said lance member and to permit gas to escape between said threads, and said lance member further being formed to have passageway means extending longitudinally therethrough from the upper end of said lance member to the outer surface thereof above said pointed tip, said passageway means comprising an axial passageway extending from the upper end of said lance member to a radial passageway above said pointed tip, said radial passageway opening to the surface of said lance member, and sealing means in said cap member to engage the upper surface of said lance member to seal the upper end of said axial passageway when said lance member is threaded into said cap member and against said sealing means.