WO2008113608A2

WO2008113608A2 - Stopper of spiral wound cork leafs

Info

Publication number: WO2008113608A2
Application number: PCT/EP2008/002328
Authority: WO
Inventors: Fernando Erriu
Original assignee: Rasoira Holding Sa
Priority date: 2007-03-22
Filing date: 2008-03-25
Publication date: 2008-09-25
Also published as: EP2136976A2; WO2008113608A3

Abstract

The stopper (1) is composed of cork leafs (1',1') of thickness from 0.5 to 1.0 mm., obtained by longitudinal cutting of the cork into strips ca. 5 cm. wide, spiral wound on them selves, kept firmly joined together by various means, adhesives (1''), adhesive tapes, thermo-adhesive films, capsules, and obtained by a process and a machine able to carry it out that allow the elimination of the red powders, the cancellation of the manufacturing scraps, the arrangement of the pores to achieve a porosity of the stopper better exploited longitudinally, the possibility to sterilize also the interior of the stopper, the possibility to predetermine the specific gravity by means of the pressure put during the rolling up. This allowing obtaining a natural quality all- cork stopper without waste and at low cost, unlike the traditional ones too expensive and not very respectful of the environmental resources or the synthetic ones not transpiring.

Description

STOPPER OF SPIRAL WOUND CORK LEAFS

This invention refers to a stopper obtained by rolling up one or more cork leafs as spiral around them selves or around a core acting as starting support of the winding of the small leaf roll.

It refers also to a manufacturing method of said stopper that allows obtaining the peculiar characteristics that make it different and allow solving the drawbacks of those known by the previous technique.

Furthermore subject of this invention is a machine or device allowing carrying out the process of the invention to obtain the subject stopper.

The small leaf roll is kept permanently together by points or small zones of glue on the leafs or by interposition of plastic tape of containment or fastening.

The subject of the invention refers more precisely to a stopper made of spiral wound cork leaf to form a small roll, that allows an easier manufacturing, a better exploitation of the raw material, the development of a new generation of stopper all leaf or with core, that can be of wood, glass, resin, plastic or cork agglomerate.

Furthermore it allows solving further problems coming from the traditional stopper of cork like the sterilisation, the reduction of the quantity of cork for manufactured unit, important feature of environmental respect, the superior quality of the product both as mechanical resistance and as structural layout of the natural pores of the cork.

The traditional stoppers on the market, leaving out the low-cost type built by cork agglomerate ground and mixed with glue, are usually obtained from a solid cork pre-selected in a single piece by means of punch cutters, in this way stoppers are obtained made of a single piece of cork, that in turn are refined by means of honing machines, the subsequent phase is the sterilisation that obviously can spread only on the surface of the stopper and not inside.

A further unsolved problem in the traditional manufacturing method is that related to the impossibility to eliminate from the inside of the stopper the red powders that cause serious damages for the bottled wine, in fact the rd powders are contained in all the holes (pores) of the cork, they can be seen in every traditional stopper also of first choice simply cutting in two the stopper, these as we said cause serious damages to the wine, in fact they cause the transfer to the wine of the usually called stopper taste or better tannin taste, it is enough to consider that only in Italy the problem cause losses many billions Euros' worth. Not less serious but very important is the impossibility in the current manufacturing to obtain identical stoppers with the same specific gravity, or better the impossibility to predetermine the specific gravity during the manufacturing phase. All these drawbacks for the big producers of bottled wine, in time, have contributed to create a distortion of the market to the detriment of the producers of the traditional stopper that nearly collapsed, letting take off the plastic or silicone stopper... It is enough to consider that in Sardinia the bigger incomes of the island were represented by the cork sector until 2001 , whereas at present it is practically disappeared from the list, all this to big advantage of the new product, till now, that is the plastic stopper. This last tanks to the unresolved problems of the cork stopper has won a huge market share being able to assure reliability about sterility and nonexistent stopper taste, and at the same time low cost. The market built by the big bottling firms adopted it well, whereas the overwhelming majority of the consumers hate it and do not like to see it on the vintage wine preferring the cork, in fact, against the good points of the plastic stopper, a drawback emerges that is anyway very important for the ageing in the bottle of the vintage wine, it is not able in fact to create that exchange that instead exists between cork and air, that according to the connoisseurs is the life of the wine.

To overcome this big compromise an unbridled run-up occurred in the production sector of the cork stopper looking for novelties trying to eliminate all the existing problems, today these problems still persist in spite of the introduction of washer stoppers with head of natural cork and central body of cork agglomerate, in spite of the adoption of different sterilisation systems too.

The stopper made of cork leaf is able to easily solve all the drawbacks present in the traditional stopper, as from tests and comparative trials.

Task of this invention is to show a stopper obtained by rolling up under constant pressure a natural cork leaf of thickness variable between 0.5 and 1.5 mm, said rolling up occurring on itself in case of a all-leaf stopper or on a core, that forms the tip of the small roll that rolls up of the leaf, in the preferred case of stopper with head, being the leafs joined firmly together by means of glue or adhesive.

.More precisely the subject of this invention is a stopper made of spiral wound cork leafs, characterised in that it includes one or more superimposed cork leafs, wound on them selves as a roll to form a cylindrical or truncated conical small roll (1), precisely the said stopper.

This invention includes also a process that is substantially divided in subsequent working phases. It consists mainly of rolling up a natural cork leaf or more superimposed leafs as spiral on itself or them selves,

- under constant pressure,

- introducing zones or points of glue or, - arranging the closure tape or,

- arranging the bi-adhesive tape or, encapsulating with glass-shaped container, or capsule with open bottom, rolling up around a nucleus or core provided or not with head in case of stoppers with core or head.

More precisely this invention includes a process of preparation and manufacturing of the stopper made of cork leafs, characterised in that it includes the following operations, consisting of the below described phases.

- The chosen and selected cork shall be cut after the boiling into strips ca. 5 cm wide, the height being dependent on the thickness of the cork; - these strips, called straps, go to a subsequent phase of cutting belly and back that is the side that lies in contact with the trunk of the tree and the superficial side that lies outside the outer bark

- once obtained the clean straps the stripping is carried out, by means of conventional machines already available on the market, to obtain leafs of a predefined thickness usually from 0,5 to 1 mm, for a full exploitation of all the cork of the strap without any scrap;

- elimination of all the red powders, by full emptying of the pores containing them, reduced to the minimum thickness of 0,5-1 mm. by the previous working step, through a simple blowing with loss of their whole contents;

- building of the spools composed of a number of said clean leafs obtained before, usually ca. 1 m. long and joined together by adhesive or stapling points up to build a tape long enough to build the spool, able to feed the machine charged to wind the small roll of cork leaf to produce the stopper;

- loading and unwinding of the leaf for its advancement by means of pneumatic pincers toward a fixed arm of the machine where it undergoes first of all a sterilization treatment of the leafs, microwave or thermal (like infrared), chemical (like ethylene oxide) or physical (like ultrasounds) treatment and

- in case of stoppers made of glued leafs, impregnation of the leafs by spray adhesive or their coupling with adhesive or thermo-adhesive tapes; - rolling up of the leaf to form the small roll, by bending of the tip of the leaf by means of a bent punch and by moving forward and pressing on the leaf given by a fixed arm to obtain a stopper of the desired diameter and of predefined specific gravity;

- separation of the stopper obtained in this way from the spool by cutting of the leaf and moving back of the arm to position again itself and do a new rolling up;

- and in case of dry rolled leafs, encapsulation through covering or capsule with open bottom and transpiring bored head of compatible material.

This invention includes also a machine for the manufacturing of the stopper made of cork leafs with the above described process, provided with a bearing or roll of loading of the spool of cork, with means for the sterilisation of the cork leaf, with means for its impregnation by adhesive, or alternatively with coupling of the adhesive or thermo-adhesive tapes, characterised in that it includes a first fixed supporting arm that houses a slide for the laying and advancement of the leaf, of a second mobile arm openable in rotation against and coupled to a third mobile arm provided with rolls or sliding pins on a rail or slide groove machined on the on the part of said fixed arm, with means of control of the opening of said mobile arms and means of setting of the pressure put on the small roll of leaf to determine its dimensions and specific gravity, said mobile arms moving forward against the leaf, providing for its rolling up and the forming of the small roll of cork leaf as a stopper. The machine for the manufacturing of the stopper made of cork leafs is also provided with means of bending of the tip of the leaf to create a draft to rolling up by the mobile arm, with a guillotine cutter to cut the leaf at the end of the winding, and with pincers to position back the leaf of the spool in the starting position of the rolling up done by a new translation of said mobile arm.

The invention is illustrated by the attached drawings, in any case not limiting.

- Figure 1 shows an axonometric view of the stopper of the invention with spiral leaf stabilised by the use of adhesive;

- Figure 1a shows in plan view the leaf(s) on which the adhesive is arranged as stripes far enough from the external borders, that become gluing rings by rolled up leaf(s);

- Figure 1b shows in perspective view like the previous one the arrangement of the adhesive in form of points;

- Figure 2 shows in section said cork leafs coupled to a thin external tape of adhesive material;

- Figure 3 shows in axonometry the leaf rolling up kept compact by a bi- adhesive tape arranged centrally on both sides of the leaf along the whole length of the leaf; - Figure 3a shows in section said cork leafs coupled and kept compact in the rolling up to a thin transparent tape of thermo-adhesive material arranged on both sides and along the whole length and width of the leaf ;

- Figure 4 shows in axonometry the two sections of the stopper, head and bottom, where the cork leafs are dry spiral wound on them selves without the use of adhesive nor tape, kept compact by the rolling up as small roll by means of a capsule that houses them with free bottom and bored head;

- Figures 4a, 4b and 4c show respectively the two sections of the stopper of the Figure 4 in axonometry, head and bottom, and its arrangement by the bottling;

- Figures 5, 5a show the stopper provided with head in axonometry and section respectively;

- Figures 6, 6a show axonometric and section view of the stopper provided with core for rolling up and head;

- Figure 7 shows a view of the machine of the invention;

- Figure 7a shows in section the slide for laying and advancement of the leaf for its unwinding and rolling up.;

- Figure 7b, shows a detail section of the fixed arm of the machine of the invention; - Figure 7c explains in axonometry and in detail the interaction and the way to work of the fixed arm and of the mobile arm coupled together of the machine of the invention;

- Figure 7d shows a complete axonometry of the machine of the invention.

We give now in the following, with reference to the explanatory drawings of the attached Figures, a description of some particular forms of carrying out the invention, without depriving anything from the generality of the invention itself and without limiting its field of use.

The stopper made of cork leafs spiral wound 1 , includes one Y or more 1" superimposed cork leafs, wound on them selves as a roll to form a cylindrical or truncated conical small roll 1 , precisely the said stopper [Figure 1].

In a form of carrying out said leafs 1', 1" are kept together as a roll by gluing on a single and limited zone (V") of their surface, area very reduced with respect to the surface of the leaf and sufficiently far from the borders, to avoid contact with the liquid and the air

Said zone 1'" of gluing can be limited to one ore more central rings of the leafs to form the small roll, Figure 1a.

Otherwise said zone 1'" of gluing can be reduced only to gluing points scattered on the contact surface of the leafs precautionary far enough from the lower and upper borders of the small roll, Figure 1b. In a further variant of the invention said cork leafs 1', 1" are coupled to an external adhesive tape 2 of inert and biocompatible plastic material, extensible to form a multilayer sandwich 1', 1", 2, said tape of plastic material wound on itself assuring by the border or the end tongue of the adhesive tape the closure of the small roll in the spiral winding of the leafs without the use of glues, Figure 2.

In a further way the superimposed cork leafs that form the small roll are coupled on the top and on the bottom of a bi-adhesive tape 2', 2" of bi- adhesive plastic material to form a multilayer sandwich 1', 1", 2', 2" to assure the tightness of the leafs wound on them selves, Figure 3.

In a different way the superimposed cork leafs 1', 1" that form the small roll are coupled on the top and on the bottom of a transparent thermoplastic tape 2"', that keeps them permanently adherent to compact the small roll by thermal treatment, Figure 3a.

The stopper 1 made of cork leafs can be also carried out only by the small roll composed of the cork leafs Y, 1", dry spiral wound on them selves without glue and an external containment layer like a capsule 3 of inert plastic material shaped as an inverted glass, with open bottom and the opposite side bored 3' to form the head of the said capsule, acting as a covering able to house the roll made of the said cork leafs and to assure the tightness of the whole without the use of glues, Figures 4, 4a, 4b, 4c.

The stopper 1 of cork leafs 1 ', 1 " can also be provided with a head 4, Figures 5,5a Otherwise the stopper made of spiral wound cork leafs can be also carried out, unlike the stopper all made of leaf, winding the said leafs 1', 1" around a cylindrical nucleus or truncated conical core 5 of inert material, like metal, baked clay, silicone or polymer, being the reference axis of rolling up and the beginning of winding of the small roll, possibly provided with head 5¹, Figures 6, 6a.

The truncated conical stopper can be carried out by superimposition of cork leafs 1', 1" of different length and width, avoiding milling working on the cylindrical stopper producing scrap material; or by rolling up of leafs of decreasing transverse thickness, such stopper particularly suitable to distillates and spirits, in particular when provided with head joined to the core acting as beginning of the small roll.

The process to create the stopper of cork leaf is the following.

The chosen and selected cork shall be cut after the boiling into strips ca. 5 cm wide, the height being dependent on the thickness of the cork, this works must be done in any case also for the traditional stopper, these strips, called straps, go to a subsequent phase of cutting belly and back that is the side that lies in contact with the trunk of the tree and the superficial side that lies outside the outer bark; once obtained the clean straps the stripping is carried out, by means of conventional machines already available on the market, to obtain leafs of a predefined thickness usually from 0,5 to 1 mm, in this way there is a full exploitation of all the cork, that as leaf makes up the leaf stopper, without any scrap, in fact the whole leaf is used, a further important good point of this work process is that all the red powders are eliminated in this phase, in fact the pore housing the red powders reducing itself to the minimum thickness of 0,5 - 1 mm by a simple blowing loses its whole contents emptying itself fully.

Once obtained the clean leafs, with them the spools are obtained composed of a number of leafs, usually ca. 1 m. long and joined together by adhesive or stapling points up to build a tape long enough to build the spool, able to feed the machine that later on winds the small roll that forms the stopper;

The machine subject of this invention is based on the traditional electromechanical, hydraulic and pneumatic technique, it is able to build or manufacture the stopper composed of spiral cork leaf.

With a very simplified outline we state here below the structural foundations and the basic principles of operation of said machine that can be industrialized and optimised with components and sensors and controls of the current technique to achieve superior qualities and optimal products.

The subject machine for the manufacturing of the stopper 1 made of cork leafs V₁V that carries out the process of this invention is provided with a bearing or roll 14 of loading of the spool of cork 11 , with means for the sterilisation of the cork leaf, with means for its impregnation by adhesive, or alternatively with coupling of the adhesive or thermo-adhesive tapes (these means are not shown in the Figures) and includes a first fixed supporting arm 7 that houses a slide 12 for the laying and advancement of the leaf 1',1", Figures 7, 7c, 7d , preferably "U-shaped", Figure 7a, a second mobile arm 9 openable in rotation 9¹ against and coupled to a third mobile arm 10 provided with rolls or sliding pins 8" on a rail or slide groove 8' machined on the part 8 of said fixed arm 7, Figures 7b ,7c, 7d, with means 9" of control of the opening of said mobile arms 9,10 and means 13 of setting of the pressure put on the small roll of leaf 1', 1" to determine its dimensions and specific gravity, said mobile arms 9,10 moving forward against the leaf 11 , providing for its rolling up and the forming of the small roll of cork leaf as a stopper 1 , Figures (7, 7c, 7d).

Furthermore it is provided with means of bending of the tip of the leaf to create a draft to rolling up by the mobile arm 9, with a guillotine cutter to cut the leaf at the end of the winding, and with pincers to position back the leaf of the spool in the starting position of the rolling up, done by a new translation of said mobile arm 9 (these means are not shown in the Figures).

Even if it is not specified or drawn, it is clear that the leaf has actually an automatic advancement and furthermore before to pass through the "U" slide it passes through the different devices able to carry out the processes where it becomes the sterilisation, the components glue, adhesive tape or self- agglomerating film and the further alternative workings relevant to the manufacturing process.

So the leaf spool 11 is loaded on the support arm 10 of the machine, said machine being composed essentially of a fixed arm 7 on which the leaf 1', 1" proceeds and lies down and of a mobile arm 9 that produces a forward advancement pressing on the leaf to rolling it up, and a backward one to position itself back and do a new rolling up; as soon as the rolling up of the leaf has reached the desired thickness or diameter, a guillotine cutter cuts the leaf and separates it from the spool, while pneumatic pincers take the leaf of the spool and drag it to the starting position of the rolling up done by a new translation of the mobile arm.

The beginning of the rolling up is assured by a stroke of bent punch that duly bends the tip of the leaf so that by the advancement of the mobile arm a natural rolling up of the leaf on itself occurs (these means are not shown in the Figures).

Of course the rolled up leaf must at the end remain compact tied up and bound, must not reopen, therefore the leaf can be impregnated by sprayed adhesive before the rolling up, or a bi-adhesive tape can be arranged on both sides in order to assure the gluing, or simply to apply by moulding on both sides of the leaf a very thin layer of transparent cellophane like that used in the kitchen, that at the end of the rolling up stick itself between layer and layer by a warm stroke assuring the compactness of the small roll, or without any adhesive but with a plastic or silicone glass-shaped covering with bored bottom.

In any case the leaf in one pass before the rolling up undergoes also a treatment in a microwave or infrared chamber able to sterilize the whole leaf that must then be rolled up.

To determine the specific gravity a setting 13 of the pressure of the mobile arm 9 is carried out, so the higher is the pressure, the higher is the specific gravity. Finally there is a clear evidence of the advantages of the stopper of the invention, carried out by the process and the machine also parts of this invention, with the resulting elimination of the drawbacks of the Known Technique, that is the absence of red powders, the cancellation of the manufacturing scraps, the arrangement of the pores that are never transversely communicating from one side to the other of the stopper achieving instead a porosity of the stopper better exploited longitudinally, the possibility to sterilize also the interior of the stopper, the possibility to predetermine the specific gravity by means of the pressure put during the rolling up.

Claims

1.) Stopper made of spiral wound cork leafs (1), characterised in that it includes one (V) or more (1") superimposed cork leafs, wound on them selves as a roll to form a cylindrical or truncated conical small roll, precisely the said stopper, (1), [Figure 1].

2.) Stopper made of cork leafs according to the Claim 1 , characterised in that said leafs (V, 1") are kept together as a roll by gluing on a single and limited zone (V") of their surface, area very reduced with respect to the surface of the leaf and sufficiently far from the borders.

3.) Stopper made of cork leafs according to the Claim 2, characterised in that said gluing zone (V") is limited to one or more central rings of the leafs to form the small roll, [Figure 1a].

4.) Stopper made of cork leafs according to the Claim 2, characterised in that said gluing zone (V") is reduced only to gluing points scattered on the contact surface of the leafs prudently far enough from the lower and upper border of the small roll, [Figure 1b].

5.) Stopper made of cork leafs according to the Claim 1 , characterised in that said cork leafs (1', 1") are coupled to an external adhesive tape (2) of inert and biocompatible plastic material, extensible to form a multilayer sandwich (V, 1", 2) said tape of plastic material wound on itself assuring by the border or the end tongue of the adhesive tape the closure of the small roll in the spiral winding of the leafs without the use of glues [Figure 2].

6.) Stopper made of cork leafs according to the Claim 1 , characterised in that the superimposed cork leafs that form the small roll are coupled on the top and on the bottom of a bi-adhesive tape (2¹, 2") of bi-adhesive plastic material to form a multilayer sandwich (V, 1", 2', 2") to assure the tightness of the leafs wound on them selves, [Figure 3].

7.) Stopper made of cork leafs according to the Claim 1 , characterised in that the superimposed cork leafs (V₁V) that form the small roll are coupled on the top and on the bottom of a transparent thermoplastic tape (2"'), that keeps them permanently adherent to compact the small roll by thermal treatment [Figure 3a].

8.) Stopper made of cork leafs (1) according to the Claim 1 , characterised in that it includes the small roll composed of the cork leafs (V, 1"), dry spiral wound on them selves without glue, and an external layer like a capsule (3) of inert plastic material shaped as an inverted glass, with open bottom and the opposite side bored (3') to form the head of the said capsule, acting as a covering able to house the roll made of the said cork leafs and to assure the tightness of the whole without the use of glue, [Figures 4, 4a, 4b, 4c].

9.) Stopper made of cork leafs (1) according to the Claim 1 , characterised in that it is provided with head (4), [Figures 5,5a].

10.) Stopper made of spiral wound cork leafs (1) according to the Claim 1 , characterised in that, unlike the stopper all made of leaf, the said leafs (1', 1") are wound around a nucleus or core (5) of inert material, like metal, baked clay, silicone or polymer, being the reference axis of rolling up and the beginning of winding of the small roll, [Figures 6, 6a].

11.) Stopper made of spiral wound cork leafs (1) according to the Claim 10, characterised in that the core (5) is shaped as truncated cone.

12.) Stopper made of spiral wound cork leafs (1) according to any one of the Claims 10 to 11 , where said nucleus or core (5), being the reference axis of rolling up of the leafs (1 \ 1") and the beginning of the winding small roll, is provided with a head (5').

13.) Process of preparation and manufacturing of the stopper made of cork leafs according to any one of the Claims 1 to 12, characterised in that it includes the following operations, consisting of the below described phases:

- The chosen and selected cork shall be cut after the boiling into strips ca. 5 cm wide, the height being dependent on the thickness of the cork;

- these strips, called straps, go to a subsequent phase of cutting belly and back that is the side that lies in contact with the trunk of the tree and the superficial side that lies outside the outer bark; - once obtained the clean straps the stripping is carried out, by means of conventional machines already available on the market, to obtain leafs of a predefined thickness usually from 0,5 to 1 mm, for a full exploitation of all the cork of the strap without any scrap;

- elimination of all the red powders, by full emptying of the pores containing then, reduced to the minimum thickness of 0,5-1 mm. by the previous working step, through a simple blowing with loss of their whole contents;

- in case of stoppers made of glued leafs,

- impregnation of the leafs by spray adhesive or their coupling with adhesive or thermo-adhesive tapes;

- rolling up of the leaf to form the small roll, by bending of the tip of the leaf by means of a bent punch and by moving forward and pressing on the leaf given by a fixed arm to obtain a stopper of the desired diameter and of predefined specific gravity;

- and in case of dry rolled leafs,

- encapsulation through covering or capsule with open bottom and transpiring bored head of compatible material.

14.) Machine for the manufacturing of the stopper (1) made of cork leafs (1',1") according to the Claim 1 , by the process according to the Claim 13, provided with a bearing or roll (14) of loading of the spool of cork (11), with means for the sterilisation of the cork leaf, with means for its impregnation by adhesive, or alternatively with coupling of the adhesive or thermo-adhesive tapes, characterised in that it includes a first fixed supporting arm (7) that houses a slide (12) for the laying and advancement of the leaf (1',1"), of a second mobile arm (9) openable in rotation (9') against and coupled to a third mobile arm (10) provided with rolls or sliding pins (8") on a rail or slide groove (8') machined on the part (8) of said fixed arm (7), with means (9") of control of the opening of said mobile arms (9,10) and means (13) of setting of the pressure put on the small roll of leaf (V₁I") to determine its dimensions and specific gravity, said mobile arms (9,10) moving forward against the leaf (11), providing for its rolling up and the forming of the small roll of cork leaf as a stopper (1), Figure (7d).

15.) Machine for the manufacturing of the stopper (1) made of cork leafs (1',1") according to the Claim 14, provided with means of bending of the tip of the leaf to create a draft to rolling up by the mobile arm (9), with a guillotine cutter to cut the leaf at the end of the winding, and with pincers to position back the leaf of the spool in the starting position of the rolling up done by a new translation of said mobile arm.