WO2017029490A1

WO2017029490A1 - Cork with valve

Info

Publication number: WO2017029490A1
Application number: PCT/GB2016/052532
Authority: WO
Inventors: Malcolm Russell MacKenzie WARD
Original assignee: Ward Malcolm Russell Mackenzie
Priority date: 2015-08-17
Filing date: 2016-08-16
Publication date: 2017-02-23
Also published as: GB201514602D0; FR3040165A1; GB2541403A

Abstract

A bottle cork assembly (1) comprises a cork (2) sized and shaped to be a close tolerance fit, in use, with the neck opening of a bottle. The cork (2) has an outer surface (5), frictionally engaging the inner surface of the neck opening to retain the cork (2) in the bottle. A longitudinal through opening (9a, 9b) extends through the cork (2) and a valve member (3) is moveably mounted in the through opening (9a, 9b) for movement between a closed position in which the valve member (3) engages the sides of the through opening (9a, 9b) to seal said opening (9a, 9b) and an open position in which the valve member (3) is separated from the sides of the through opening (9a, 9b) to allow fluid passage through the opening (9a, 9b). Biasing means biases the valve member (3) into the closed position. The valve member (3) is oriented such that closing movement thereof is in a direction away from a bottom end of the cork (2), said bottom end being the end which, in use, is inserted into the bottle. The valve member (3) is sized to allow it to pass through a top end of the through opening (9a, 9b) in the cork (2) and a seal member (10) is sized such that when engaged on the valve member (3), it is too big to pass through the opening (9a, 9b) and hence prevents removal of the valve member (3) from the cork (2).

Description

Cork with Valve

The present invention relates to corks for bottles and more particularly to corks for use during the bottle fermentation of sparkling wine

During traditional production of sparkling wine, it is necessary to access the contents of the bottle at numerous times during the fermentation process. For example, ingredients need to be added, samples taken for testing at various stages in the process and waste such as sediment removed. Each time this is required, the bottles have to be opened which inevitably results in some wastage. When disgorging a bottle of sparkling wine about 10% of the wine is wasted, and a skilled person is usually required to carry out the process. Furthermore, since the wine cannot be disturbed once it has cleared down, the wine has to be disgorged and then immediately recorked, meaning that expensive corking equipment is required.

The pressure within the bottle is also difficult to accurately monitor during bottle fermentation, and for safety reasons, the bottles are therefore typically over-engineered, leading to oversized, heavy bottles which give large safety margins. This significantly adds to the carbon footprint of the sparkling wine and also increases distribution costs.

There is accordingly a need for a cost-effective system to allow access to the contents of a bottle during the fermentation process which avoids wastage and which also allows accurate monitoring of pressure within the bottle so as to enable bottle sizes to be reduced without giving rise to safety issues.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved cork assembly for a bottle.

According to the present invention there is provided a bottle cork assembly comprising a plug member sized and shaped to be a close tolerance fit, in use, with the neck opening of a bottle, the plug member having an outer surface which, in use, frictionally engages the inner surface of the neck opening to retain the cork in the bottle, a longitudinal through opening extending through the plug member, a valve member moveably mounted in the through opening for movement between a closed position in which the valve member engages the sides of the through open so as to seal said opening and an open position in which the valve member is separated from the sides of the through opening to allow fluid passage through the opening, a seal member carried on the valve member for engaging with the inner surface of the neck opening in the closed position of the valve in order to seal said opening, and biasing means biasing the valve member into the closed position, wherein the valve member is oriented such that closing movement thereof is in a direction away from a bottom end of the plug member, said bottom end being the end which, in use, is inserted into the bottle, wherein the valve member is sized to allow it to pass through at least a top end of the through opening in the plug member and the seal member is sized such that, when it is engaged on the valve member, it is too big to pass through the through opening and hence prevents removal of the valve member from the plug member.

A cork assembly in accordance with the invention has the advantage that it allows easy access to a bottle, for adding as well as removing / sampling operations without the losses associated with opening bottles. For example, the valve allows yeast to be ejected by gentle opening of the valve by pressing on the valve member to push it downwards and away from the valve seat formed by the inner surface of the through opening. The pressure within the bottle will then cause the yeast plug which forms in the neck of the bottle to be expelled through the valve in a controlled manner, the valve automatically closing when the procedure is completed. This therefore enables the disgorging process to be completed by an unskilled person, and since the bottle has not actually been opened, expensive re-corking equipment is not necessary. Spillage is also reduced, giving a cost saving. Now that the wine within the bottle has been cleared the bottle can now be moved to a convenient place for corking and dressing of the bottles.

The sizing of the valve member to allow it to pass through at least a top end of the through opening in the plug member has the advantage that it enables the valve to be dis-assembled and removed from the plug for cleaning or recycling and replacement. At the same time, once the seal member is in position, the valve member is held within the plug member. The orientation of the valve is important as it is not intended to act as a pressure relief valve - in the invention, the pressure in the bottle acts to increase the closing pressure on the valve member. However, the assembly of the invention does allow pressure within the bottle to be tested and excess pressure vented if necessary. This enables the wine maker to consider using a lighter, more engineered bottle, which has the effect of significantly reducing the carbon footprint both of the wine itself and the distribution process due to reduction in weight.

Preferably, the valve member is slidably moveably mounted in the through opening in the plug member, the member advantageously having a pin upstanding from its upper end which, in the closed position, projects beyond a top surface of the plug member so as to enable easy engagement and depression by a user.

Preferably, the valve member is formed in a single piece. That enables the valve member to be produced simply and economically.

The seal member may be an O-ring, in particular a rubber O-ring but other seals are also possible. The seal member is advantageously removably mounted on the valve member so as to enable removal for cleaning / servicing.

The valve seat in the plug member may be formed by a step change in the size of the through opening. However, in a preferred embodiment, the through opening tapers inwardly towards the top of the assembly, and in particular is conically shaped. This has the advantage that during the disgorging process a wide range of flow speeds can be achieved by controlling the distance by which the valve member is depressed into the plug.

This conical shape in the main body allows an area where the sediment may collect prior to disgorgement through the opening. According to the present invention there is also provided a method of producing sparkling wine wherein a bottle cork assembly as defined above is employed, the method including the sequential steps of removing the cork assembly from a bottle, removing the seal member from the valve member, withdrawing the valve member from the plug member, inserting a replacement valve member into the plug member and engaging a replacement seal member on the valve member. The replacement valve member and/or the replacement seal member may be substantially the same as the item(s) replaced, but their replacement may allow for the replaced parts to be cleaned and/or recycled. The biasing means may similarly be replaced and/or recycled.

In order that the invention may be well understood, there will now be described an embodiment thereof, given by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a sectional view of a cork assembly according to an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2 is a side view of a valve pin which forms part of the cork assembly of Figure 1 ; and

Figure 3 is a bottom view of the valve pin of Figure 2.

Referring first to Figure 1, there is shown a cork assembly 1 which comprises a cork 2 with a valve assembly 3 mounted therein. The cork 2 is preferably formed of plastic material for reasons of cost, long life and ease of cleaning, but may be formed of any suitable material. The cork 2 has an outer surface 5 which includes a circumferential rib 6 which is inclined towards the top 7 of the cork 2. The outer surface 5 engages with the inner surface of the neck of a bottle when the cork is inserted into a bottle and the rib 6 allows easier insertion of the cork into the bottle whilst increasing the frictional resistance to withdrawing the cork 2 from the bottle. Although the cork is shown with a single rib, multiple ribs may also be present.

The cork 2 has a central passage 9a, 9b extending longitudinally therethrough from the top 7 to the bottom 8 so as to allow fluid communication from the inside of a bottle through the cork 2. As shown in Figure 1, the passage 9a, 9b has a generally conically shaped section 9a which tapers inwards from the bottom 8 towards the top 7 and finishing in a cylindrical section 9b which has a first inner diameter Dl .

A valve pin 1 1, which forms part of the valve assembly 3, is slideably engageable in the cork 2 with its lower end 1 1a located in the conical section 9a of the passage. The valve pin 1 1 is generally arrow shaped having a shaft l ib with a head 1 1a formed on one end and a stop 1 1 c formed on the other. The head 1 la is sized so that its outer diameter D2 is smaller than the diameter Dl of the cylindrical section 9b of the cork so as to allow the head 1 la to pass through the cylindrical section 9b for assembling the valve assembly 3 in the cork 2. The head 1 1a furthermore has a circumferential groove l id formed therein in which is engageable a seal member 10, such as an O'ring, effecting sealing engagement with the conical section 9a of the passage in order to seal the passage against fluid escape through the cork assembly. The seal member 10 is sized such that when it is engaged in the groove l id, its outer diameter is greater than the inner diameter of the cylindrical section 9b and hence the valve head 1 1 a is prevented from being withdrawn from the cork 2 when the seal member 10 is in place.

The stop 1 1c of the valve pin 1 1 similarly has an outermost dimension which is greater than the diameter Dl of the cylindrical section 9b such that the stop 1 lc is prevented from passing therethrough into the passage 99a, 9b and hence the valve pin 1 1 is prevented from dropping into a bottle in which the cork 2 is engaged. The stop 1 1c has a lip 12 at its lower end against which one end of a helical spring 13, acting as a biasing member, can engage as shown in figure 1. The spring 13 is again sized to be bigger than the cylindrical section 9b such that the other end of the spring 13 is engageable against the top 7 of the cork 2 around the cylindrical section 9b of the passage as shown in Figure 1. In this way, the spring 13 is compressed between the upper surface 7 of the cork 2 and the stop 1 lc of the valve pin 1 1, and the valve pin thereby biased upwards so as to bring the seal 10 into sealing engagement with the conical section 9a of the passage. A valve guide 14 upstands from the top 7 of the cork 2, is a close tolerance fit with the stop 1 1 c of the valve pin 1 1 and operates to restrict the valve pin 1 1 to longitudinal movement only by preventing tilting due to lateral movement. The stop 1 lc is preferably cross shaped in cross-section so as to minimise the surface area contact between the stop 1 1c and the guide 14 and hence minimise friction. Other shapes for the stop 1 1 c are also possible. It may be noted that the shape of the stop 1 1c is shown in Figure 1 with a tapered portion leading to the shaft l ib, but the tapered portion is omitted in Figure 2.

The cork assembly is assembled as follows:

The valve head 1 1a is inserted through the spring 13 and the spring is seated against the lip 12. The valve head 1 la is then passed through the guide 14 from the top of the cork 2, though the cylindrical section 9b and into the conical section 9a of the passage 9. With the valve pin 1 1 pressed as far into the cork as possible, the seal 10 is located in the groove l id of the valve head 1 1a. The valve pin 1 1 is then released and the biasing action of the spring 13 pushed the pin upwards and brings the seal 10 into sealing engagement with the sides of the conical section 9a of the passage, closing it against the passage of fluid through the cork 2 in either direction.

The valve may then be opened by simply pressing the stop end 1 1c of the valve pin towards the cork 2, which separates the seal 10 from the inner wall of the passage 9a and allows material to pass through the passage 9a, 9b.

In order to disassemble the valve, the cork is removed the bottle and the valve pin 1 1 pressed fully into the cork as to allow easy access to the seal 10. The seal 10 is them removed, allowing the head 1 1a to be withdrawn through the cylindrical section 9b and the valve pin to be fully removed from the cork. The spring 13 can then also be removed from the valve member. Some or all of those parts can then be cleaned and/or replaced and/or recycled.

Claims

1. A bottle cork assembly comprising a plug member sized and shaped to be a close tolerance fit, in use, with the neck opening of a bottle, the plug member having an outer surface which, in use, frictionally engages the inner surface of the neck opening to retain the plug member in the bottle, a longitudinal through opening extending through the plug member, a valve member moveably mounted in the through opening for movement between a closed position in which the valve member engages the sides of the through opening so as to seal said opening and an open position in which the valve member is separated from the sides of the through opening to allow fluid passage through the opening, a seal member carried on the valve member for engaging with the inner surface of the neck opening in the closed position of the valve in order to seal said opening, and biasing means biasing the valve member into the closed position, wherein the valve member is oriented such that closing movement thereof is in a direction away from a bottom end of the plug member, said bottom end being the end which, in use, is inserted into the bottle, wherein the valve member is sized to allow it to pass through at least a top end of the through opening in the plug member and the seal member is sized such that, when it is engaged on the valve member, it is too big to pass through the through opening and hence prevents removal of the valve member from the plug member.

2. A bottle cork assembly according to claim 1, wherein the valve member is slidably moveably mounted in the through opening in the plug member.

3. A bottle cork assembly according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the valve member includes a pin upstanding from its upper end which, in the closed position, projects beyond a top surface of the plug member.

4. A bottle cork assembly according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the valve member is formed as a single piece.

5. A bottle cork assembly according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the seal member is an O-ring.

6. A bottle cork assembly according to claim 4 or claim 5, wherein the seal member is removably mounted on the valve member so as to enable removal for cleaning / servicing.

7. A bottle cork assembly according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the through opening in the plug member tapers inwardly towards the top of the assembly, and in particular is conically shaped.

8. A bottle cork assembly substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

9. A method of producing sparkling wine wherein a bottle cork assembly according to any of the preceding claims is employed, the method including the sequential steps of removing the cork assembly from a bottle, removing the seal member from the valve member, withdrawing the valve member from the plug member, inserting another valve member into the plug member and engaging another seal member on the valve member.