WO2005090181A2

WO2005090181A2 - Bottle closure

Info

Publication number: WO2005090181A2
Application number: PCT/GB2005/000943
Authority: WO
Inventors: Philip Nigel Lawrence
Original assignee: Philip Nigel Lawrence
Priority date: 2004-03-19
Filing date: 2005-03-11
Publication date: 2005-09-29
Also published as: GB0406194D0; WO2005090181A3

Abstract

A bottle closure (10, 20, 30) is provided, in particular for bottles (11) of still wine, that has the advantages of cork closures and screw cap closures, but with which the cork 'popping' effect is retained. The bottle closure (10, 20, 30) has a plug (12, 21, 31) adapted to be received in the neck of the bottle (11) and a handle part (13, 32) on the top and disposed in use outside the bottle (11). A screw cap (16), in use, seals against the plug (12, 21, 31). The handle part (13) may be a ring having one side securely attached (14) to the top of the plug (12, 21) and releasab y attached (15) to the plug (12, 21) at a part of the ring (13) remote from the secure attachment (14). Alternatively, the handle part (32) may be attached to the screw cap (16) with an attachment (32), e.g. a flexible cord, that allows relative rotation befi~een the cap (16) and plug (31).

Description

BOTTLE CLOSURE

This invention relates to bottle closures, and in particular to closures for bottles of still wine.

It has been customary for many years to close wine bottles by means of a plug of cork material, usually simply referred to as a cork, pressed into the neck of the bottle. To remove the cork, it is necessary to use a corkscrew or similar device. Many people have difficulty in using such devices. In particular, often the cork breaks, making it very difficult to remove that part of the broken cork remaining in the neck of the bottle. In addition, bits of cork often drop into the bottle and hence reside in the wine. This is a source of annoyance to many people. In recent years, "corks" or closures made of synthetic plastics materials have been used. This overcomes the problem of bits of cork falling into the bottle, but the use of corkscrews is generally more difficult with such closures. Furthermore, some wine connoisseurs do not like the use of closures of plastics materials. To avoid these problems, screw top closures have been used, more particularly for cheaper wines. Such caps have a sealing ring inside to seal the cap against the top of the bottle. To some people, the use of screw top closures has the detrimental effect of losing the "popping" sensation when opening a corked bottle of wine.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a bottle closure that overcomes some or all of the abovementioned disadvantages of known closures.

The invention provides a bottle closure comprising a plug adapted to be received in the neck of a bottle, the plug having a handle part on the top thereof and disposed in use outside the bottle.

The plug may be of a plastics material. The handle part may be formed integrally with the plug, and may be moulded therewith. The handle part may comprise a ring having one side thereof securely attached to the top of the plug. The ring may be releasably attached to the plug at a part of the ring remote from the secure attachment. In use, the ring may seal against the top of the bottle. The plug may be hollow, and may have a plurality of ribs on the outer surface thereof.

The bottle closure may comprise a screw cap. The screw cap may in use seal against the plug or against the handle part. The handle part may be attached to the screw cap, in which case the attachment may allow relative rotation between the cap and plug. The handle part may be a flexible cord. The screw cap may be of metal, and may be of aluminium. Alternatively, the screw cap may be of a plastics material. The invention also provides, in combination, a bottle having a neck, a plug received in the neck of the bottle, the plug having a handle part on the top thereof and disposed outside the bottle.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of one embodiment, Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of a second embodiment with the cap removed, and Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of a third embodiment.

Referring now to Fig. 1 , there is shown a bottle closure 10 fitted to the neck of a wine bottle 11. The bottle closure 10 has a plug 12 received in the neck of the bottle 11. The plug 12 is preferably of a plastics material, and may be of a relatively soft foam material. The plug 12 may be hollow as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, if preferred. The plug 12 has a handle part 13 on the top.

The handle part 13 is formed integrally with the plug 12, and preferably is moulded therewith. The handle part 13 is in the form of a ring having one side securely attached by an attachment 14 to the top of the plug 12. The ring handle part 13 has a releasable attachment 15 to the plug 12 at a part of the ring 13 opposite the secure attachment 14. The ring handle part 13 is disposed in use outside the bottle 11 and may, in use, seal against the top of the bottle 11 , or the top of the plug 12 may have a seal 17 attached to its underside for this purpose.

The bottle closure 10 also includes a screw cap 16, which is screwed onto the bottle 11 after the plug 12 is inserted in the bottle 11. The screw cap 16 is preferably of metal, and may be of aluminium. Alternatively, the screw cap may be of a plastics material. The screw cap 16 in use seals against the plug 12 or against the handle part 13. When the bottle 11 is to be opened, the screw cap 16 is removed first. One side of the ring handle part 13 may then be released from attachment to the plug 12 by breaking the releasable attachment 15 so that the ring 13 is upstanding from the plug 12. By grasping the ring 13 firmly, the plug 12 may then be pulled from the bottle 11 , giving the same "popping" effect associated with the removal of a cork.

Referring now to Fig. 2, there is shown an alternative embodiment of bottle closure 20 with the screw cap 16 described above removed. Parts of the bottle closure 20 identical with those of bottle closure 10 are identified by the same reference numerals. In this case, the plug 21 is hollow and is formed on the outer surface with ribs 22. The ribs 22 are flexible and ensure sealing of the plug 21 in the bottle 11 whilst enabling ease of removal of the plug 21 from the bottle 11. The handle part 13 is shown partly upstanding from the plug 21 , the releasable attachment 15 having been broken. Referring now to Fig. 3, there is shown an alternative embodiment of bottle closure 30. Parts of the bottle closure 30 identical with those of bottle closure 10 are identified by the same reference numerals. In this case, the handle part 32 is in the form of a flexible cord. In this case, one end of the cord 32 is attached to the plug 31 , whilst the other end of the cord 32 is attached to the screw cap 16. This form attachment between the plug 31 and screw cap 16 allows relative rotation between them. As an alternative, the one end of the cord 32 may be attached to the plug 31 whilst the other end is free. This free end may be formed with a loop 33, toggle or other pulling arrangement, shown in scrap view. When the bottle 11 is to be opened, the screw cap 16 is unscrewed from the bottle 11. The screw cap 16, loop 33 or toggle is then pulled away from the bottle 11 , causing the cord 32 to pull the plug 31 from the bottle 11 with the same "popping" effect as mentioned above.

By means of the invention, a bottle closure is provided that has the advantages of cork closures and screw cap closures whilst avoiding the disadvantages of those closures. The need for a corkscrew or other cork removing device is avoided, but the cork "popping" effect is retained.

Claims

1. A bottle closure (10, 20, 30) comprising a plug (12, 21 , 31) adapted to be received in the neck of a bottle (11), characterised in that the plug (12, 21, 31) has a handle part (13, 32) on the top thereof and disposed in use outside the bottle (11).

2. A bottle closure according to claim 1, characterised in that the plug (12, 21, 31) is of a plastics material.

3. A bottle closure according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterised in that the handle part (13) is formed integrally with the plug (12, 21 ).

4. A bottle closure according to claim 3, characterised in that the handle part (13) is moulded with the plug (12, 21).

5. A bottle closure according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the handle part (13) comprises a ring having one side thereof securely attached (14) to the top of the plug (12, 21).

6. A bottle closure according to claim 5, characterised in that the ring (13) is releasably attached (15) to the plug (12, 21) at a part of the ring (13) remote from the secure attachment (14).

7. A bottle closure according to claim 1, characterised in that, In use, the ring (13) seals against the top of the bottle (11).

8. A bottle closure according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterised in that the plug (21 , 31) is hollow.

9. A bottle closure according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the plug (12, 21 , 31) is of a plastics material and characterised in that the plug (12, 21, 31) is of a relatively soft foam material.

10. A bottle closure according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterised in that the plug (21) has a plurality of ribs (22) on the outer surface thereof

11. A bottle closure according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterised by a screw cap (16).

12. A bottle closure according to claim 11, characterised in that the screw cap (16), in use, seals against the plug (12, 21, 31).

13. A bottle closure according to claim 12, characterised in that the screw cap (16), in use, seals against the handle part (13).

14. A bottle closure according to claim 11, characterised in that the handle part (32) is attached to the screw cap (16).

15. A bottle closure according to claim 14, characterised in that the attachment (32) allows relative rotation between the cap (16) and plug (31).

16. A bottle closure according to claim 14 or claim 15, characterised in that the handle part (32) is a flexible cord.

17. A bottle closure according to any one of claims 11 to 16, characterised in that the screw cap (16) is of metal.

18. A bottle closure according to claim 17, characterised in that the screw cap (16) is of aluminium.

19. A bottle closure according to any one of claims 11 to 16, characterised in that the screw cap (16) is of a plastics material.

20. In combination, a bottle (11) having a neck and a bottle closure (10, 20, 30), the bottle closure (10, 20, 30) comprising a plug (12, 21 , 31) received in the neck of the bottle (11), characterised in that the plug (12, 21 , 31) has a handle part (13, 32) on the top thereof and disposed outside the bottle (11 ).

21. A bottle closure substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in Fig. 1 , Fig. 2 or Fig. 3 of the accompanying drawings.