Foldable sparkling wine bottle capsule

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a foldable bottle neck cap according to the preamble of claim 1.

[0002] Such a bottle neck capsule consists of a multi-layered flat material with a composite film structure and typically forms the visual finish of the closure elements of corked bottles. The bottle neck capsule does not, in principle, perform a sealing function.

[0003] Prior art has revealed multilayer composite materials for the production of bottle neck caps, for example made of Al-PE-Al, which are arranged on the bottle neck in an automated process and then folded around it.

[0004] These composite materials have several disadvantages, such as the tendency to tear when folded at the bottle neck or to form unwanted transverse creases during the folding process at the bottle neck.

[0005] German patent DE 2927510 describes a composite film with a total of 5 layers and a lacquer-aluminum lacquer-laminating wax-paper structure. Creping of the paper, annealing of the aluminum film, and the breaking strength of the wax layer are not addressed.

[0006] US Patent 3,009,593 teaches a laminated cover for crown caps and associated bottle necks, which has a layered structure with a metal foil and a paper layer. A wax compound is proposed as the adhesive. To improve the separation of two nested caps during storage and stacking, it is proposed to emboss the entire layered structure (Fig. 8) and thereby reduce the mutually contacting surface of the two flat materials. Creping of the paper, annealing of the aluminum foil, a flat aluminum foil, and the fracture resistance of the wax layer are not taught.

[0007] EP 78671 relates to a protective capsule for encasing a bottle neck, which is to be provided with an embossed relief print (p. 1, para. 5). A skirt 6 is proposed for this purpose, which may be made of aluminum, tin, PVC, polystyrene, polypropylene, polyester, optionally composite material made of strips, coated papers, compositions using waxes with microcrystalline or polyolefins. A champagne bottle capsule consisting of a soft-annealed smooth aluminum foil, brittle wax, and creped paper is not disclosed.

[0008] DE 91 07 929 U1 discloses a bottle neck cap in the form of a composite of uncreped carrier paper and an aluminum layer. The aluminum layer is deposited onto the carrier paper by vapor deposition and has a thickness of 10-20 nm. It is therefore essentially coated paper, in which the aluminum layer, due to its small thickness, plays no measurable role in the cap's elongation and other physical properties. Vapor deposition of an extremely thin aluminum layer has the disadvantage, compared to bonding two separate sheet materials, that the surface structure of the paper is adopted by the aluminum layer, thus preventing a smooth aluminum surface. The cap's foldability around the bottle neck is also limited in this case, as there is no sufficient quantity of material to provide the necessary long-term rigidity for a fold.A champagne bottle capsule consisting of a soft-annealed smooth aluminum foil, brittle wax and creped paper is not disclosed.

[0009] From DE 40 11 307 A1, a bottle neck fitting in the form of a foil-like, printed covering for the bottle neck and, if applicable, the bottle closure, especially for beer bottles, is provided in order to achieve an environmentally friendly design with an appealing appearance, in that it is formed from a voluminous paper.

[0010] The present invention aims to provide a sparkling wine bottle capsule which overcomes the disadvantages known from the prior art and fulfills the special feature that the folding usual for a sparkling wine bottle with pre-folding of the capsule at the bottle neck is retained despite the unusual use of paper and that the composite of paper and aluminium does not suffer any structural damage, e.g. in the form of cracks in the aluminium or paper foil, despite the material changes occurring during folding.

[0011] The object is achieved according to the present invention by a champagne bottle capsule consisting of a multi-layered flat material with an outer surface and an inner surface, wherein the outer surface has a smooth, soft-annealed aluminum foil, the inner surface has a creped cellulose layer, in particular a cellulose flat layer, and a breakable wax layer is provided between the inner surface and the outer surface.

[0012] Surprisingly, it was found that the inventive combination of three layers of creped paper, brittle wax, and a soft-annealed aluminum foil produces a synergistic effect with regard to several properties of the bottle neck cap. According to the present invention, brittleness can, in particular, mean that the fold formed during the pre-folding and folding process of the cap onto the bottle neck cannot be restored to its original, unfolded state; that is, the material separation (breakage) in the wax at the fold is irreversible.

[0013] Folding can be described as the process of orderly and targeted formation of individual folds of the bottle cap around the bottle neck, thereby providing a particularly tidy and orderly overall impression of the bottle cap.

[0014] The elasticity of the creped paper layer prevents the capsule from tearing during the folding process at the bottle neck, while a break in the wax layer when folding the bottle neck capsule helps the aluminum foil inside to maintain the folding pattern and prevents the capsule from reverting to its original shape from a folded state.

[0015] Furthermore, the elasticity of the paper layer and the aluminum foil ensures that unwanted transverse creases are reduced when placing the capsule on the bottle neck, or do not occur at all.

[0016] It was further determined that the machinability of the bottle neck capsule according to the invention is so close to that of the usual composite materials that a change between the materials is possible without readjusting the devices used.

[0017] In principle, the multilayer flat material according to the present invention can be provided by different papers (pulps) and / or aluminium grades and / or alloys, provided that the conditions and advantages of the invention are met.

[0018] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the following cellulose variants can be used: virgin fiber and / or recycled pulp.

[0019] Preferably, the paper or pulp can be creped, preferably throughout or almost entirely, i.e., at least 90% of its surface area, and / or have a fine crepe with preferably at least 10% creping. Fine crepe can be understood as a pulp with a creping of at least 10%, in which the surface area is reduced by at least 10% compared to the smooth starting material due to the creping process.

[0020] The crepe structure, which can also be described as a facade plaster structure or rough Plessir crepe structure, is particularly advantageous, as it is still recognizable in the final product and can contribute to the wrinkle-free and crack-free machinability of the flat material according to the invention. The bends that occur on the wings of champagne bottle caps when they are folded are compensated for by the expanding crepe material and the stretchable, soft-annealed aluminum foil, whereby the wax fracture between the layers can help to maintain the clean edge of the formed fold.

[0021] Creping the multi-layered flat material after it has been joined together can lead to the breakage of the aluminum foil.

[0022] An Al foil according to the present invention is preferably provided with a thickness of 20-30 µm and thus differs in thickness by about 1000 times from a vapor-deposited Al layer.

[0023] The folding of the sparkling wine bottle capsule according to the present invention can consist of the adaptation to the bottle neck, which is usual for a sparkling wine bottle, taking place in two steps.

[0024] Typically, the capsule material is first applied to the bottle neck as smoothly as possible, forming an excess of material in the form of several wings along the length of the bottle. In a second step, these wings are then folded against the bottle neck, with sharp creases being made at their bases to ensure they lie flat and close to the underlying capsule material. Significant tensile and bending forces act on the capsule material both during the initial flat application of the capsule to the bottle neck (pre-folding) and during the application of the protruding wings. The inventive combination of the stretchable aluminum film, the breakable wax layer, and the adaptable crepe layer enables the production of a sparkling wine bottle capsule with a reduced aluminum content compared to conventional sparkling wine bottle capsules. Preferably, the aluminum film has an extensibility of at least 8%.

[0025] According to the present invention, the paper layer and the Al foil can be joined together by means of a roller deposition process, such as the semiflexo process.

[0026] The material of the sparkling wine bottle capsule may have ventilation holes in certain areas or distributed throughout, which can facilitate a bubble- and wrinkle-free fit during pre-folding. This refers to wrinkles and bubbles that occur unintentionally and are not part of the final appearance of the applied wings, but rather can arise in the initial step (pre-folding) in the contact area between the capsule and the bottle neck.

[0027] In common usage, crepe can be understood as a cellulose material which has a higher basis weight due to folding compared to a smooth cellulose of the same density and / or sheet thickness.

[0028] Creped pulp / paper can be characterized in particular by its roughness achieved through folding / gathering and / or its flexible length adjustment in at least one spatial direction due to tension. This is clearly distinguishable from embossing, which, although it causes a visual change to the paper, does not improve its tensile strength or elasticity.

[0029] According to a further advantageous embodiment of the present invention, the waxes can be used in the production of the multilayer flat material of the sparkling wine bottle capsule according to the invention. The brittle wax according to the present invention differs from a laminating adhesive layer, in particular in that the latter is a reactive adhesive or a solvent-based adhesive. Such an adhesive does not possess brittleness. Furthermore, brittleness is not a generally inherent property of all waxes. For particularly advantageous brittleness properties, the wax can be provided with the following parameters: parameter Value Unit Needle penetration (DIN 51579:2010-03, at 25°C) approximately 28 One scale division corresponds to 0.1 mm Viscosity (DIN 52007-2:2013-10, at 98.9°C) approximately 220 mPa·s

[0030] Preferably, the penetrometer for determining the fracture strength is set up such that the reading device is calibrated in scale divisions (one scale division corresponds to 0.1 mm) and covers a range from 0 scale divisions to at least 250 scale divisions.

[0031] According to a further development of the present invention, aluminium grades and / or alloys can be used which have a tensile strength of 7-9 kg / mm² and / or an elongation at break of ≤ 4.5%, preferably 3.5%, particularly in the machine direction and / or ≤ 4.0%, preferably 3.0%, particularly transverse to the machine direction.

Claims

1. Foldable sparkling wine bottle capsule consisting of a multi-layered flat material with an outer side and an inner side, characterized in that the outer side has a smooth, soft-annealed aluminum foil, the inner side has a creped cellulose layer, in particular a cellulose flat material, and a breakable wax layer is provided between the inner side and the outer side.

2. Foldable sparkling wine bottle capsule according to claim 1 characterized in that the creped structure has a minimum of 5% crepe, preferably a minimum of 10% crepe.

3. Foldable sparkling wine bottle capsule according to claim 1 or 2 characterized in that the cellulose layer has a weight of at least 25 g / m2, preferably 30 g / m2, and / or a thickness of at least 40 µm, preferably at least 80 µm, particularly preferably 80-130 µm and preferably 100 µm.

4. Foldable sparkling wine bottle capsule according to claim 2, characterized in that the cellulose is a fine crepe, i.e., a cellulose with a crepe of at least 10%.

5. Foldable sparkling wine bottle capsule according to claim 2 characterized in that the creped structure has at least 7% crepe, preferably in at least one direction along a paper plane.

6. Foldable sparkling wine bottle capsule according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it can be folded and fixed to a bottle neck without adhesives or glues.