Bottle Stopper

Abstract

In one aspect the invention provides a bottle stopper for a wine bottle or the like, which bottle stopper comprises a body having a sealing member which sits within the peck (1) of the bottle in use and which extends radially outwardly from the body of the stopper to seal the bottle neck, the stopper further having a passageway extending upwardly therethrough to communicate with the interior of the bottle and which incorporates or communicates with a chamber within the stopper in which is housed an oxygen-scavenging medium. In a further aspect the invention provides a bottle stopper for a wine bottle or the like, which bottle stopper comprises a body having a sealing member (30, 31) which sits within the neck of the bottle in use and which extends radially outwardly from the body of the stopper to seal the bottle neck, the bottle stopper further having a mechanism for compressing the sealing member substantially axially of the stopper to expand the sealing member laterally/substantially radially of the stopper into sealing contact with the neck of the bottle.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention concerns improvements in and relating to bottle stoppers such as are used for bottles of wine or the like.BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION[0002]The bottle stopper of wine bottles, commonly referred to as a cork because historically it has always been made of the resiliently-compressible bark of the cork tree, nowadays may be formed of a number of different materials and especially rubber or other elastomeric materials. The design of the bottle stopper needs to be such as to provide an effective seal between the interior of the bottle and the atmosphere in order to prevent spoilage of the wine or other beverage held within the bottle. Exposure to oxygen is a major concern since it leads to oxidation of the wine, a general consequence of which is that the wine becomes too acidic and unpalatable. The problem with the traditional cork bottle stopper is that it generally is very difficult to re-insert it into the bottle top once removed and co...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0014]According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a bottle stopper for a wine bottle or the like, which bottle stopper comprises a body having a sealing member which sits within the neck of the bottle in use and which extends radially outwardly to seal the bottle neck, the stopper further having a passageway extending upwardly therethrough to communicate with the interior of the bottle and which incorporates or communicates with a chamber within the stopper in which is housed an oxygen-scavenging medium, wherein the oxygen scavenging medium is housed within a chamber that is externally accessible by a portion of the bottle stopper that is readily demountable by the user to enable the user to access and replace the oxygen scavenging medium and reclose the chamber, wherein the chamber is accessible through removal of a screw-threaded or push / snap-fit cap that encloses and seals the chamber.

Problems solved by technology

Exposure to oxygen is a major concern since it leads to oxidation of the wine, a general consequence of which is that the wine becomes too acidic and unpalatable.

The problem with the traditional cork bottle stopper is that it generally is very difficult to re-insert it into the bottle top once removed and consequently most consumers if opening a bottle of wine and not finishing it will either leave it unstoppered and, therefore, entirely vulnerable to oxidation, or will seek to stopper the bottle using a replacement for the stopper.

Whether the consumer has attempted to reclose the bottle or not, a part-emptied bottle will, of course, admit a substantial volume of air to oxidise the wine remaining in the bottle and thus the shelf-life of the wine remaining in the bottle is extremely short.

This is, however, largely impractical.

The seal over the wine or other beverage in the bottle is vulnerable to being broken by the slightest agitation of the bottle and it is generally ineffective when the bottle is under half full.

Sparkling wines cannot generally be preserved by this method.

For those consumers who do wish to store part-opened bottles of wine for any substantial length of time or wish to take more substantial measures to prevent oxidation occurring, the existing available products for the purpose do not meet the requirement.

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