WO2004050495A1

WO2004050495A1 - The method for opening and bottle and stopper of wine

Info

Publication number: WO2004050495A1
Application number: PCT/KR2003/002655
Authority: WO
Inventors: Seon-Young Oh
Original assignee: Seon-Young Oh
Priority date: 2002-12-05
Filing date: 2003-12-04
Publication date: 2004-06-17
Also published as: AU2003302659A1

Abstract

Disclosed are a wine bottle stopper made of cork and plastic materials, a wine bottle having a spiral thread formed on a bottle neck, and a method for sealing and opening the wine bottle using a drawing device having a turning device.

Description

THE METHOD FOR OPENING AND BOTTLE AND STOPPER OF WINE

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a wine bottle stopper and a method for sealing and opening thereof, and more particularly, to a wine bottle stopper and a method for sealing and opening thereof, in which a wine bottle has a spiral thread formed on the outer periphery thereof and a turning device mounted on the spiral thread of the wine bottle for opening the bottle by upwardly turning the turning device with a hand, and an upper stopper is mounted on an inlet of the wine bottle, thereby allowing an user to easily open the upper stopper and providing the original function of a cork for wine by allowing him/her to upwardly turn the turning device with the hand without using any special tool such as a screw upon the opening of the wine bottle.

Background Art

Wine is kept laid down with it contained in a bottle, stored and ripened in the bottle. A cork stopper has been widely used as a stopper for a wine bottle in the West for a long time, since it has a good elasticity due to a close combination of cells and is light and not spoiled due to a good resistance to moisture and water. Furthermore, the cork can prevent deterioration or turbidity of wine by absorbing tartarnic acid, residual sugar or impurities generated from the wine, and so, it is known to the public that materials better than the cork material as a wine stopper has been not yet found.

However, in spite of the above merits and characteristics of cork, wine manufacturers in Korea have used crown form or turning type stoppers of tinned iron, aluminum or plastic materials as the wine stopper. The reason is that the cost of cork material is expensive, users suffer from an inconvenience of having to use a specific tool so as to open the wine stopper, and a spiral type screw is not widely spread to general household since the amount of wine consumption is small and preference of wine is not so high. In addition, there is also an inconvenience in preparing all tools with which to drink wine in case of drinking wine outdoor. Moreover, when the user opens the wine stopper using the spiral screw without cautiousness, the cork stopper is damaged, and then, fragments of the cork stopper may be dropped into the wine bottle, which result in pollution of wine contents inside the bottle. Therefore, a screw for exclusive use of wine bottle is needed for opening the wine bottle having the cork stopper, and there is inconvenience as the user must prepare tools or implements for separating the cork stopper from the wine bottle, and so, there have been lots of attempts and efforts for easily separating the cork stopper from the wine bottle. Korean Utility Model Registration No. 20-251044 discloses a cork stopper drawing device, which includes a cylindrical stopper body made of natural cork, an opening band closely supported on the maximum circumference of the stopper body and formed on the upper surface of the stopper body in a ring type when being pressed into an inlet of a wine bottle, and a drawing part caught and supported by the opening band. In the prior art, the opening band of the stopper body pressed into the inlet is caught by the drawing part for opening of the wine bottle.

Korean Patent Laid-open Publication No. 10-2001-38670 discloses a cork stopper including a larger diameter cylindrical part and a smaller diameter cylindrical part, which are spaced apart by a predetermined interval from each other, fixing means for coupling the top surfaces of the larger diameter cylindrical part and the smaller diameter cylindrical part to each other, and a round type leakage-prevention ring fit between the fixing means and an inlet of a wine bottle for preventing leakage of contents inside the wine bottle.

However, the above prior arts have a disadvantage in that the cork stopper is polluted by contact between foreign matters stuck to the outer surface of the cork stopper and the inlet of the wine bottle or the contents inside the wine bottle can be leaked. Furthermore, the above prior arts have another disadvantage in that if the drawing device has the opening band or a cord for storing wine for a long time or ripening wine after putting it into the wine bottle, when the cord or the opening band becomes weakened and breaks, the opening band or a fixing member for fixing the cord or the opening band may drop into the wine bottle. Moreover, the prior art have a further disadvantage in that wine may run down or be evaporated through the opening band in consideration that wine is stored in the wine bottle with it inclined or laid down if the cord or the opening band is used. Additionally, the prior arts have another disadvantage in that the cork stopper is tied up with the band or the cord, and then, a ring is connected to the drawing device. Above all things, in fact, the conventional method for drawing out the cork stopper by fixing the cord or other coupling member to it has lots of problems in that the cork stopper is inserted into the inlet of the wine bottle using a completely automatic device.

Disclosure of Invention Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above mentioned-problems occurring in the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention is to provide a wine bottle stopper and a method for sealing and opening thereof, which can prevent separation of a cork and a plastic stopper by tightly fixing the cork to the inside of an upper cork stopper and a cork fixing part using an adhesive, and which can easily open the cork stopper by turning a turning device.

The prevent invention prevents pollution or deterioration of contents inside the wine bottle by foreign matters or a damaged drawing device and prevent leakage of wine even though the wine bottle is circulated, stored or ripened in a laid down state. Furthermore, the plastic stopper according to the present invention shows characteristics and effects of cork material to wine maximally as the plastic stopper have a number of holes perforated on the side surface and the upper surface thereof. Moreover, the present invention allows a user to easily open the wine bottle by turning the turning device with a hand as the wine bottle and the plastic stopper are coupled with each other at the inlet of the wine bottle by the cork fixing part.

To achieve the above object, the present applicant has improved a cork stopper disclosed in Korean Utility Model Registration No. 285319, which was earlier registered on May 17, 2002. The present invention includes a bottle stopper made of cork and plastic materials and a spiral thread formed on a wine bottle neck, and a drawing device having a turning device mounted on the spiral thread. The most important thing of the present invention is a tight coupling between a cork and a plastic stopper. To this end, the length of a cork fixing part is made larger than the length of the plastic stopper to widen a contact area between the cork and the plastic stopper maximally, and the diameter of the cork fixed to the cork fixing part is made larger than the lower portion thereof to firmly fix the cork to the cork fixing part. Furthermore, an adhesive is coated on the inner surface of the upper cork stopper and the cork fixing part to firmly fix the cork, and for easy removal of the upper cork stopper from the wine bottle, a portion of the cork fixing part made of plastic material is inserted into an inlet of the wine bottle in consideration that the plastic material is more easily separated from the glass material than the cork when the plastic material and the cork are in close contact with the glass material, respectively. In addition, the lower portion of the cork is rounded for the easy removal of the stopper. In other words, the present invention is designed to prevent unintended separation of the cork and plastic stopper and to easily open the bottle by upwardly turning the turning device as the stopper is easily removed from the bottle.

The wine bottle used in the present invention has a volume of 750ml, a length of 33.3cm, a bottle neck which is 9cm long and corresponds to the upper portion thereof, and a body which is 24.3cm long and corresponds to the lower portion thereof. The diameters of the upper and lower portions of the bottle neck are equal and formed in a straight line. The bottle neck has a spiral thread of 9cm formed on the outer periphery thereof, and the turning device has a length of 7cm and the same shape as that of the spiral thread formed on the bottle neck. The drawing device consisting of the spiral thread on the bottle neck and the turning device can remove the bottle stopper made of plastic material and cork from the bottle by allowing a user to upwardly turn the drawing device with a hand. The present invention relates to a wine bottle stopper made of cork and plastic materials, a wine bottle having a spiral thread formed around a bottle neck, and a method for sealing and opening the wine bottle using a drawing device having a turning device. Furthermore, the present invention shows the functions and merits of the cork stopper as and edge of the plastic stopper and the outer periphery of the cork fixing part are spaced apart from each other by an interval of about 0.5 ~ 1.5mm without closely contacting the cork and the plastic stopper, and a number of air holes are formed in the top and side surfaces of the plastic stopper to make wine respire.

Therefore, there is no need to carry or prepare tools for opening the wine bottle.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Further objects and advantages of the invention can be more fully understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a detailed view of a stopper of a wine bottle according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a detailed view of a neck and an inlet of the wine bottle according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a detailed view of a turning device according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a detailed view of an upper cork stopper according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged detailed view of a plastic stopper according to the present invention; and FIG. 6 is a detailed view showing a state in which the stopper of the wine bottle is removed from the wine bottle.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

The present invention will now be described in detail in connection with preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. While the present invention has been described with reference to the particular illustrative embodiments, it is not to be restricted by the embodiments but only by the appended claims. It is to be appreciated that those skilled in the art can change or modify the embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a detailed view of a stopper of a wine bottle according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a detailed view of a neck and an inlet of the wine bottle according to the present invention, FIG. 3 is a detailed view of a turning device according to the present invention, FIG. 4 is a detailed view of an upper cork stopper according to the present invention, FIG. 5 is an enlarged detailed view of a plastic stopper according to the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a detailed view showing a state in which the stopper of the wine bottle is removed from the wine bottle. In the drawings, there are a bottle 1, a cylindrical turning device 2, an upper cork stopper 3, a bottle body 10, a bottle neck 11, a spiral thread 12, a bottle inlet 13, a turning device coupling part 21, an elevated spiral thread 22, a plastic stopper 30, an outer wall border (outer wall) 31, upper central portions 32, air holes 33, 33', inner wall borders (inner walls) 34, an lower outer wall border coupling part 35, a lower cork stopper 36, and inner and outer wall border connection portions 37.

As shown in FIG. 1, the present invention includes the bottle 1 having the spiral thread 12 of a length of 9cm formed on the whole bottle neck 11, the screw-type turning device 2 formed on the outer periphery of a bottle neck 11 of the bottle 1, and the upper cork stopper 3 screwed with the spiral thread of the turning device 2. The present invention will be described in more detail as follows.

As shown in Fig. 2, the bottle 1 includes a bottle body 10, and the bottle neck 11 formed on the upper portion of the bottle body 10 and having the spiral thread 12 of 9cm formed on the outer periphery thereof, which has equal upper and lower diameters. As shown in FIG. 3, the cylindrical turning device 2 includes a rectangular concave-convexo portion 21 formed on the upper end portion thereof at regular intervals, and the elevated spiral thread 22 formed on the inner periphery thereof to be coupled with or separated from the bottle neck 11 having the spiral thread 12 according to a rotational direction.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the upper cork stopper 3 includes the plastic stopper 30 formed on the upper portion thereof, and the lower cork stopper 36 formed on the inner portion of the plastic stopper 30 and inserted into the six inner wall borders (inner walls) 34 whose ends are connected to one another into one piece. The diameter of the lower cork stopper coupled with the cork fixing part is larger than that of the lower portion of the cork stopper to make the cork fixing part tightly fix the cork stopper. The upper portion of the cork stopper is compressed and inserted, and after being expanded, the upper walls of the cork stopper and the cork fixing part are tightly adhered by an adhesive to strongly fix the cork stopper to the cork fixing part. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, the cork of the cork stopper inserted into the bottle can provide the inventor's intended effect even though the diameter of the cork stopper is somewhat smaller than the inner wall, but it would be appreciated that the diameter of the cork stopper equal to or somewhat larger than the inner wall is also contained in the scope of the present invention as providing the same effect as the above and a sealing effect. The plastic stopper 30 has a double border (double wall) structure, and includes: the outer wall border (outer wall) 31 formed on the outer periphery thereof; the round inner wall borders (inner walls) 34 formed inside the outer wall border (outer wall) 31, connected to one another by the inner and outer wall border connection portions 37 at regular intervals and inserted into the inlet 13 of the wine bottle, the inner wall borders extending downwardly longer than the outer wall border (outer wall) 31, ends of the inner wall borders being integrated with each other into one piece; the upper portions 32 of the inner stopper connected to the inner and outer wall border connection portions 37 for connecting the upper portions of the inner and outer wall borders 31 and 34, the upper portions 32 of the inner stopper extending to the inside of the plastic stopper 30; and a number of air holes 33' formed between the inner and outer wall border connection portions 37 and between the upper central portions 32. The outer wall border (outer wall) 31 includes a number of air holes 33 formed in the outer peripheral surface thereof; and the lower outer wall border coupling part 35 formed on the outer wall border (outer wall) 31, the lower outer wall border coupling part 35 having the concave-convexo portion corresponding to the concave- convexo portion of the turning device coupling part 21 to be coupled with the turning device coupling part 21 having the rectangular concave-convexo portion formed on the upper end portion of the turning device 2 at the regular intervals.

Assembling and using of the present invention will be described as follows.

The plastic stopper 30 having the double borders is manufactured in a factory by using the conventional plastic processing device and method such as injection-molding and pressing. After the conventional adhesive is coated on the inner peripheral surfaces of the inner wall borders (inner walls) 34 contacting the lower cork stopper 36 and the upper portions 32 of inner stopper, the lower cork stopper 36 is inserted and firmly fixed, and hence, the upper cork stopper 3 is manufactured. After that, as shown in FIG. 6, the turning device 2 is located at the lower portion of the bottle neck 11, and the lower cork 36 of the upper cork stopper 3 is inserted into the inlet 13, and at the same time, the concave-convexo portion 35 of the outer wall border 31 of the plastic stopper 30 of the upper cork stopper 3 is coupled with the concave-convexo portion 21 of the turning device 2 fit onto the outer periphery of the bottle neck 11.

When the turning device 2 fit onto the outer periphery of the bottle neck 11 is rotated to open the bottle, the concave-convexo portion of the turning device 2 is coupled with the concave-convexo portion of the upper cork stopper 3 during the upward rotation of the turning device 2, and the coupled concave-convexo portions are moved upwardly by the rotation, so that anyone can easily open the wine bottle without any tools.

[Embodiment]

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described referring to a preferred embodiment of the present invention and comparative examples.

Comparative example 1 The diameter of the inlet of the wine bottle used generally was 18.5mm, the diameter of the cork stopper was 23mm, the length of the cork stopper was 35mm, and the length of the cord was 45mm. The user attempted to open the wine bottle by pulling out the cork stopper, which was connected with the bottle inlet of the wine bottle by means of the cord, but the stopper was not separated from the inlet as the cork stopper had the large diameter and a strong compression force, and was too long.

Comparative example 2

The cork stopper having the same diameter as the bottle inlet was mounted as the comparative example 1. At this time, the length of the cork stopper inserted into the bottle inlet was 24mm, but the stopper was not removed from the bottle inlet even with a great power when the user pulled out the stopper mounted as in the comparative example 1. Comparative example 3

The cork stopper having the same diameter as the bottle inlet was mounted as the comparative example 1. At this time, the length of the cork stopper inserted into the bottle inlet was 16.5mm, and so, the stopper was easily removed from the bottle inlet when the user pulled out the stopper mounted as in the comparative example 1. However, the contents of the wine bottle were leaked out through the cord when it was laid down for a long time. Additionally, the device for opening the wine bottle and the cork stopper by connecting the cork stopper by the cord has a problem in that the cork stopper is inserted into the completely automatic device as the cord gets tangled.

Embodiment 4

The diameter of the inlet of the wine bottle was 18.5mm. The cork stopper had the entire length of 33mm and 7mm of the entire length of the cork stopper was caught to the cork fixing part, and tightly adhered by the adhesive, and then, 26mm of the entire length of the cork stopper^' was inserted into the inlet of the wine bottle. After that, the elevated spiral thread was disposed at the center of the outside of the inlet, and then, the turning device was mounted on the outside of the elevated spiral thread. So, the upper cork stopper was easily removed from the wine bottle when the turning device was turned upwardly, and the contents did not leak out even though the wine bottle was laid down.

Industrial Applicability

As described above, the present invention can allow the user to easily remove the cork stopper from the wine bottle, and seal the wine bottle by making the best use of effects and merits of the cork stopper for absorbing tartarnic acid or impurities and blocking air. Furthermore, the present invention can easily seal the bottle with the cork stopper by using the completely automatized device, and there is no need to prepare necessary tools when the users drink wine inside or outside as the wine bottle can be easily opened by turning the turning device. Moreover, the present invention removes inconvenience in opening the stopper due to wine lovers' hasty temper, and tools for the exclusive use of the cork stopper are not needed. In addition, the present invention can prevent introduction of foreign matters into the bottle by allowing the opening of the bottle without deformation of the cork.

Claims

What Is Claimed Is:

l.A wine bottle stopper comprising: a wine bottle (1) having a spiral thread (12) formed on the outer periphery of a bottle neck (11), a cylindrical turning device (2) having a spiral thread formed on the inner periphery thereof to be engaged with the spiral thread(12) of the bottle neck(ll) of the wine bottle (1), and an upper cork stopper (3) coupled with the cylindrical turning device (2), wherein the cylindrical turning device (2) includes a rectangular concave-convexo portion (21) formed on the upper end portion thereof at regular intervals, and an elevated spiral thread (22) formed on the inner periphery thereof to be engaged with or removed from the bottle neck (11) having the spiral thread(12) according to a rotational direction, and wherein the upper cork stopper (3) includes a plastic stopper (30) formed on the upper portion thereof, and a lower cork (36) formed on the inner portion of the plastic stopper (30) and inserted into six inner wall borders (inner walls) (34), ends of the six inner wall borders (inner walls) (34) being connected with one another into one piece.

2. The wine bottle stopper according to claim 1, wherein the wine bottle (1) includes a bottle body (10), and the bottle neck (11) formed on the upper portion of the bottle body (10) and having the spiral thread (12) of 9cm formed on the outer periphery thereof, the bottle neck (11) having equal upper and lower diameters.

3.The wine bottle stopper according to claim 1, wherein the plastic stopper (30) has a double border (double wall) structure, and includes: an outer wall border (outer wall) (31) formed on the outer periphery thereof; round inner wall borders (inner walls) (34) formed inside the outer wall border (outer wall) (31), connected one another by the inner and outer wall border connection portions (37) at regular intervals and inserted into an inlet (13) of the wine bottle, the inner wall borders (34) extending downwardly longer than the outer wall border (outer wall) (31), ends of the inner wall borders being integrated with each other into one piece; upper central portions (32) connected to the inner and outer wall border connection portions (37) for connecting the upper portions of the inner and outer wall borders (31) and (34), the upper central portions (32) extending to the inside of the plastic stopper(30); and a number of air holes(33') formed between the inner and outer wall border connection portions (37) and between the upper central portions (32) .

4.The wine bottle stopper according to claim 3, wherein the outer wall border(outer wall) (31) includes: a number of air holes (33) formed in the outer peripheral surface thereof; and an lower outer wall border coupling part (35) formed on the outer wall border (outer wall) (31), the lower outer wall border coupling part (35) having a concave-convexo portion corresponding to the concave- convexo portion of the turning device coupling part (21) to be coupled with the turning device coupling part (21) having the rectangular concave-convexo portion formed on the upper end portion of the turning device 2 at regular intervals.

5. he wine bottle stopper according to claim 4, wherein the inner wall borders (inner walls) (34) inserted into the bottle neck(ll) and the cork stopper are closely fit on the inner wall of the bottle neck (11) and tightly seal the wine bottle.

6.A method for sealing and opening a wine bottle, the method comprising the steps of: coating an adhesive onto the inner peripheral surfaces of inner wall borders (inner walls) (34) of a plastic stopper (30), which is in contact with a lower cork stopper (36), and the inner surface of upper central portions (32) , and inserting the lower cork stopper(36) into the inner wall borders (34); locating a turning device (2) at the lower portion of a bottle neck(ll); inserting the lower cork (36) of an upper cork stopper (3) into an inlet (13) of the wine bottle; and coupling a concave-convexo portion (35) of the outer wall border (31) of the plastic stopper (30) of the upper cork stopper (3) with a concave-convexo portion (21) of the turning device (2) to tightly seal the wine bottle, alternatively, when a user turns the turning device (2) fit on the outer wall border of the bottle neck (11) to open the wine bottle, turning and moving upwardly the turning device (2) and the upper cork stopper (3), in a state in which the concave-convexo portion of the turning device (2) and the concave-convexo portion of the upper cork stopper (3) are coupled with each other, while the turning device (2) is turned upwardly.

7.A wine bottle comprising: a bottle body(lθ); and a bottle neck (11) formed on the upper portion of the bottle body (10) and having the spiral thread (12) of 9cm formed on the outer periphery thereof, the bottle neck (11) having equal upper and lower diameters.