WO2018151694A1

WO2018151694A1 - Disposable siphon cap for bottles with carbonated beverages

Info

Publication number: WO2018151694A1
Application number: PCT/UA2017/000014
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ihor ZHYTARIUK
Original assignee: ZHYTARIUK, Lesia; HORDA, Todor
Priority date: 2017-02-14
Filing date: 2017-02-21
Publication date: 2018-08-23
Also published as: UA119177C2

Abstract

Disposable siphon cap for bottles with carbonated beverages, comprising housing (1) including a partition (4) with a central openable hole (5), which separates an upper part (2) from a lower part (3) of said housing (1) and which communicates with a bottle cavity. The partition (4) is connected to a siphon riser pipe (11) surrounding said hole (5). The cap comprises a beverage dispensing valve having a sliding piston (6) with a vertical push rod (7) which closes said hole (5) under effect of the gas pressure in the bottle; a pressure plate (8), which hermetically closes said upper part (2) of the housing (1) and is rigidly connected with said push rod (7); a dispensing spout (9), wherein said upper part (2) of the housing (1) has a radially directed through-bore located under said pressure plate (8). The spout (9) is shaped as a retractable pipe having a rounded front part and a C-shaped end part. Pulling a driving member (12) extracts the spout (9) from said housing (1) and unblocks the push rod (7) allowing the pressure plate (10) to be pushed for opening the dispensing valve and dispensing the beverage.

Description

DISPOSABLE SIPHON CAP

FOR BOTTLES WITH CARBONATED BEVERAGES

Field of the Invention

This invention relates to the structure of disposable siphon caps for closing of also disposable plastic, glass and metallic bottles directly at present flow filling lines of carbonated beverages.

For the purpose of this description, the term "carbonated beverages" as employed herein and in the appended claims refers to the following concepts:

alcohol-free soft drinks such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Cola, carbonated mineral waters, lemonade, cream soda, bread kvass and many other; and

low-alcohol drinks such as naturally carbonated beer and artificially carbonated (effervescent) wines and alcohol-containing cocktails.

Background Art

Over a XX century massive (usually metal) reusable carbonation pans meant for homemade of carbonated beverages by saturation of pure or comprising various flavor additives water with carbon dioxide were available. Each such pan has been equipped with bottleneck having an outer thread and a detachable closing head shaped as a rotary body, the skirt of which had been had a mating inner thread. Each closing head has been equipped with -:

a such partition having a through-hole, which had been separated the pan cavity from atmosphere in operative position;

a siphon pipe, an upper outlet end of which had been fixed in said through-hole and a lower inlet end of which had been located in operative position nearly the pan bottom;

a lever-actuated valve meant for opening-closing of said through-hole;

a protrudent draining spout that had been made together with the said head body, and an unit meant for placement and opening of a replaceable cartridge with compressed carbon dioxide.

Such cartridges were accessible for consumers, and the said pans were permitting to store of prepared carbonated beverages up to a few days, to dispense of theirs accurately and to preserve of beverage remains under gas pressure up to emptying.

However, reusable siphon pans had gone of use as a result of progress of mass industrial production of carbonated beverages.

At present considerable part of carbonated beverages is going into the world market in disposable bottles having volume more than 0.5 I and preferably 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 I or more. Such bottles close, as a rule, by screw caps equipped with tear-off test rings.

Uncorking of theirs results in equalization of pressure within bottles with atmospheric pressure, and in release of carbon dioxide from liquid that occurs the more intensive, the faster a consumer screws off a cap, the more a beverage contains carbon dioxide and the higher temperature of any beverage.

Intensive degasification results usually in splashing and losses and in unavoidable quality deterioration of such beverage part that does not drink at once.

It is clear that the more a bottle volume, the higher probability of splashing and the less probability of one-time consumption of all beverage, even if it would be drinking collectively.

Thus, it is desirable to cork up at least a part of disposable modern bottles with carbonated beverages by siphon closing devices. Attempts of their development have known from XX century end.

For example, US 4860932 discloses removable metallic siphon head for reservoirs with gassed liquids. It shaped as a rotary body having an inlet cavity, which connects in operative position with the reservoir cavity, and a low-capacity outlet cavity, which has separated from said inlet cavity by a partition having a central through-hole, and by a poppet valve. Said outlet cavity has connected with a discharge flow path within such protrudent draining spout that has made together with the head body. The siphon pipe upper end has rigidly fixed relative to the said through-hole. A convexo-concave spring disk of said valve has in midportion star-shaped indentations and its convex side has directed upwards. Compression of the spring disk for the purpose of passing of liquid through said indentations realizes a leverage having a central rod.

It is easily to note that only deficiency of aforesaid unit for placement and opening of a replaceable cartridge with compressed carbon dioxide distinguishes the above-mentioned siphon head from the closing head for reusable siphon pans.

It is clear that these heads cannot use for closing of disposable bottles at present flow filling lines of carbonated beverages, because they have protrudent parts, such as draining spouts and levers. Moreover, they are massive and difficult-to-produce.

Siphon dispenser disclosed in the US 5350090 has practically the same structure based on a poppet valve and, therefore, the same disadvantages.

An improved siphon dispenser according to the US 6253965 has a back valve that includes a conical seat and a conical sliding piston having a push rod connected to a pressure- exerting lever. Such valve is able to close automatically under gas pressure inside a bottle. However this device has a protrudent draining spout made together with the dispenser body.

Obviously, this siphon dispenser is also difficult-to-produce and unsuitable for closing of disposable bottles at present flow filling lines of carbonated beverages.

RU 2162051 discloses the more perfect disposable siphon cap, which is the closest to a proposed further cap. This known cap can be made from polymers that approved for contact with any foods and has: (a) a hollow axisymmetric housing including a upper part and a such lower part that has a means of fixation onto a bottleneck (in particular, a thread or at least one annular latch);

(b) a made together with the housing body or pressurized into it partition, which - has a central through-hole,

separates the said housing upper part, which communicates periodically with atmosphere in operative position, from the said housing lower part, which communicates permanently with a bottle cavity in operative position, and

has complemented in operative position by a siphon pipe, an upper end of which has closely attached to the partition under-side around said central through-hole, and a lower end of which has located nearly a bottle bottom,

(c) a back valve equipped with sliding piston that has a vertical push rod and meant for cutoff of said central through-hole under pressure of gas within a closed bottle and for forced opening of it,

(d) a pressure plate, which has hermetically blocked said housing on top and rigidly connected with said vertical push rod, and

(e) a protrudent draining spout, an outlet of which has communicated permanently with said upper part of said housing.

Use of polymers and inclusion into cap structure the back valve and the pressure plate for its actuation allow to simplify production of the known siphon caps appreciably.

However, external disposition of the massive draining spout requires revising structure of work members of present flow filling lines of carbonated beverages. Further, permanent free accesses to the pressure plate with said push rod no exclude incidental openings of the back valve and undesirable splashing of any carbonated beverage.

Summary of the Invention

The invention is based on the problem - by way of improvement of form and arrangement of components - to create such disposable siphon cap for bottles with carbonated beverages that can be mounted on bottlenecks directly at present flow filling lines of carbonated beverages.

This problem is solved in that in a disposable siphon cap for bottles with carbonated beverages comprising - (a) a hollow axisymmetric housing including a upper part and a lower part that has a means of fixation onto a bottleneck,

(b) a partition, which - has a central through-hole,

separates the said housing upper part, which communicates periodically with atmosphere in operative position, from the said housing lower part, which communicates permanently with a bottle cavity in operative position, and has complemented in operative position by a siphon pipe, an upper end of which has closely attached to the partition under-side around said central through-hole, and a lower end of which has located nearly a bottle bottom,

(e) a draining spout,

according to the invention

(f) the housing upper part has a radially directed through-bore located under said pressure plate,

(g) the draining spout shaped as a retractable pipe having a rounded front part and a C- like tail part; this pipe has equipped in front by a driving member for its extraction from and return into the said housing and inserted in initial position into said through-bore aflush with the housing wall so that said C-like tail part embraces said vertical push rod of the sliding piston.

Use of the tubular radially retractable draining spout allows providing conformity of cap's outer dimensions and end effectors of present flow filling lines of carbonated beverages.. Moreover, such draining spout serves in the initial position as an arrester of the pressure plate that excludes any incidental opening of the back valve.

First additional feature consists in that the driving member shaped as a lamellate lever, upper end of which connected to the said retractable pipe of the draining spout by an elastic joint. This allows easy manipulation with the draining spout.

Second additional feature consists in that the said lamellate lever has equipped with a latch located below the draining spout. This allows shutting the draining spout in the off-position and avoidance of its fouling during pauses between discharges of carbonated beverage.

Third additional feature consists in that said housing has made as one-piece together with said partition. This simplifies assemblage of caps for the purpose of following mounting of theirs onto bottlenecks.

Fourth additional feature consists in that said housing has composed of separately made upper and lower parts, which have rigidly connected in ready-made cap, at that said partition serves as a cover of said lower housing part. This structure is more rigid and, respectively, more reliable in operation.

Brief Description of Drawings

The invention will now be explained by detailed description of the proposed siphon cap for bottles with carbonated beverages with references to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig.1 shows a disposable siphon cap having an entire housing (longitudinal section by vertical plane);

Fig.2 shows a disposable siphon cap having a compound housing (longitudinal section by vertical plane);

Fig.3 shows a cross-section of said cap at level of geometrical axis of a retractable tubular draining spout;

Fig.4 shows the siphon cap together with a bottle fragment (longitudinal section);

Fig.5 shows steps of operation with the siphon cap from initial position to operating position and back (in this figure sequence of steps has designated by gross numerals 1 , 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, whereas components of the cap had non-enumerated for the sake of simplification because they are comprehensible on the basis of previous figures).

Best Embodiments of the Invention

A disposable siphon cap for bottles with carbonated beverages has a hollow axisymmetric housing 1 that includes an upper part 2 and a lower part 3, which had divided by a partition 4 having a central through-hole 5.

The housing 1 can be made either as one-piece together with said partition 4 (according to first embodiment of the invention showed on the Fig.1 ), or as a compound composed of separately made and then rigidly assembled (for example, by not designated especially a screw joint) an upper part 2 and a lower part 3 (according to second embodiment of the invention showed on the Fig.2).

Any embodiment of the invention (see Figs 1 and 2) has such features.

The upper part 2 of the housing 1 comprises of:

a back valve based on a preferably mushroom-like sliding piston 6 having a vertical push rod 7 meant for cutoff of said central through-hole 5 under pressure of gas within a closed bottle and for forced opening of it;

a pressure plate 8, which has hermetically blocked the upper part 2 of said housing 1 and rigidly connected with said vertical push rod 7 of the sliding piston 6, and

a retractable draining spout 9, which has inserted into a not designated especially radially directed through-bore that has made in the wall of said upper part 2 of the housing 1 and located under said pressure plate 8; at that

an adjoining to the central through-hole 5 surface of the partition 4 can serve usually as seat of the sliding piston 6 of said back valve, and a body of this partition 4 has equipped from its under-side by such holder 10 of a siphon pipe 11 that has located beyond contact area of said sliding piston 6. This siphon pipe 11 is relatively separate component of the proposed cap and has upwardly a not designated especially bellmouth visible on all drawings. Further, the draining spout 9 shaped as a retractable pipe having a rounded front part and a C-like tail part. This pipe has inserted in initial position into above-mentioned radially directed through-bore aflush with the upper part 2 wall of the housing 1 so that said C-like tail part embraces said vertical push rod 7 of the sliding piston 6 as it is visible on the Fig. 3.

The draining spout 9 pipe has equipped in front by a driving member 12 for its extraction from and return into the said housing 1. This member 12 shaped usually as lamellate lever, an upper end of which has connected with the draining spout 9 pipe by a not designated especially elastic joint and which has equipped with a fixator (for instance, such as a latch) 13 relative to the housing 1. This fixator 13 has located lower as the draining spout 9 and can serve as test element to testify integrity of bottle content. Particularly, it is enough for this purpose, if said fixator 13 can be equipped with a latch having tear-off head.

And, finally, lower part 3 of the housing 1 has a not designated especially means for fixation of the siphon cap in operative position (usually an inside thread conformable to an outside thread at bottleneck 15) and also not designated especially a tear-off test ring (see Fig.4).

Additional differences between two embodiments of the invention consist in that the pressure plate 8 can be - either a special component, which must be hermetically connected with the wall of said upper part 2 of the housing 1 , for example, by annular latch 14 (see Fig.1 ),

or a cover of lower part 3 of the housing 1 (see Fig.2).

It is clear for each person skilled in the art that various other modifications of the invention within scope of rights confined only by first claim can be possible. So, the sliding piston 6 of the back valve can have conical, spherical or other suitable contact surface (naturally, if a seat in the wall of central through-hole 5 will be shaped conformably).

Components of the proposed cap including the siphon pipe can be made from plastics such as low-density polyethylene or polyethylene terephthalate that have allowed contacting with food substances.

Siphon pipes must be beforehand inserted into bottles in vertical position, whereas ready- assembled main parts of the siphon cap must be fixed in work members of automatic closing machines, which provide filling of bottles with carbonated beverages and screwing of said caps on bottlenecks. At that aforesaid bellmouths of the siphon pipes 11 engage with the holders 10 as it is visible on Figs 1 , 2, 4 and 5.

The described cap can be used as follows (see Fig.5).

A consumer moves a bottle from phase (1 ) «closed» into phase (2) «admittance to the draining spout 9» by extraction of the driving member 12 from the upper part 2 wall of the housing 1. Then he extracts out this spout 9 into phase (3) for the purpose of push on said plate 8 and said rod 7. As a result the sliding piston 6 of the back valve pulls down and opens the central through-hole 5 in the partition 4 for dispensing of a carbonated beverage, as it is visible in phase (4). Further the consumer stops pressure on said plate 8, and back valve closes under gas pressure within the bottle, as it is visible in phase (5). And, finally, he returns the driving member 12 into contact with the upper part 2 wall of the housing 1 and removes the bottle into phase (6) «availability to retention of beverage remain».

The described cycle can repeat up to emptying of any bottle.

Industrial applicability

All components of the proposed siphon cap can serially produce using present equipment meant for treatment of thermoplastics. Assemblage of these caps can be easily automatized. This allows rapid demand saturation with proposed caps at popular prices.

Claims

1. A disposable siphon cap for bottles with carbonated beverages comprising -

(a) a hollow axisymmetric housing (1 ) including a upper part (2) and a lower part (3) that has a means of fixation onto a bottleneck,

(b) a partition (4), which - has a central through-hole (5),

separates the upper part (2) of said housing (1 ), which communicates periodically with atmosphere in operative position, from the lower part (3) of said housing (1 ), which communicates permanently with a bottle cavity in operative position, and

has complemented in operative position by a siphon pipe (1 1 ), an upper end of which has closely attached to the partition (4) under-side around said central through-hole (5), and a lower end of which has located nearly a bottle bottom,

(c) a back valve equipped with sliding piston (6) that has a vertical push rod (7) and meant for cutoff of said central through-hole (5) under pressure of gas within a closed bottle and for forced opening of it,

(d) a pressure plate (8), which has hermetically blocked said housing (1 ) on top and rigidly connected with said vertical push rod (7), and

(e) a draining spout (9),

characterized in that

(f) the housing upper part (2) has a radially directed through-bore located under said pressure plate (8),

(g) the draining spout (9) shaped as a retractable pipe having a rounded front part and a C-like tail part; this pipe has equipped in front by a driving member (12) for its extraction from and return into the said housing (1 ) and inserted in initial position into said through-bore aflush with the housing (1 ) wall so that said C-like tail part embraces said vertical push rod (7) of the sliding piston (6).

2. The cap according to the claim 1 characterized in that the driving member (12) shaped as a lamellate lever, upper end of which connected to the said retractable pipe of the draining spout (9) by an elastic joint.

3. The cap according to the claim 2, characterized in that said lamellate lever has equipped with a latch located below the draining spout (9).

4. The cap according to the claim 1 , characterized in that said housing (1 ) has made as one-piece together with said partition (4).

5. The cap according to the claim 1 , characterized in that said housing (1 ) has composed of separately made upper (2) and lower (3) parts, which have rigidly connected in the ready- made siphon cap, at that said partition (4) serves as a cover of said lower part (3).