BOTTLE STOPPER

Abstract

Bottle stopper, of the type that allows the repeated opening and hermetic closing of a bottle, characterized in that it consists of a cap (1), which has a plunger (5), and an elastic piece (7) of elastic synthetic material, inside which the plunger (5) is housed, the elastic piece (7) comprising a head (7.5) and an internal annular projection (7.1) that interferes with the plunger (5) establishing a friction connection between the plunger (5) and the piece (7); And because when the stopper is inserted into the neck (8) of a bottle, the head (7.5) rests against and abuts the upper part of the bottle mouth, and when pushed axially downwards against the cap (1) of the stopper, the plunger (5) moves axially downwards, elastically deforming the side wall of the elastic piece (7) in its contact with the internal annular ridge (7.1), thus hermetically sealing the bottle mouth in the operative position.

Description

BOTTLE STOPPER TECHNICAL SECTOR The present invention relates to bottle stoppers, of the type that provide a solution whereby the opening and closing of a bottle can be repeated multiple times, maintaining an airtight seal in the closed position. This type of stopper is particularly suitable for wine and sparkling beverage bottles. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Currently, several designs of this type of stopper are widely known. For example, Utility Models ES1021309U and ES1027549U describe a hermetically sealed bottle stopper composed of three plastic pieces. One of these pieces is shaped like the top cap of a stopper and is attached to a second piece, an elongated cylinder with a head featuring semi-helical grooves. This head fits inside the third piece, which in turn is positioned within the mouth of a bottle. When the first of these three pieces, identified as the cap, is rotated in one direction, the second piece rotates with it. The rotation of the second piece's head deforms the third piece, causing it to press against the inside of the bottle's neck, thus creating a hermetically sealed seal. Rotating the cap in the opposite direction releases the seal.While this solution uses a small number of components, it has the drawback that operating the cap requires a twisting motion by the user's hand, which in turn rotates the cap's cap. This movement is not comfortable for the user. Furthermore, the closing force is not controlled, which could result in an incorrect or excessive force, making it difficult to remove the cap later. A solution that also involves a rotational movement of the cap of the stopper is that disclosed by Utility Model number ES1018747U and by Patent ES2171350 Spanish Utility Model number ES-0210979U describes a stopper of this type, but instead of sealing by rotating the cap, it achieves closure with an axial movement that displaces a piston. This piston, in turn, expands a piece of elastic material designed to seal the stopper when it comes into contact with the inside of the bottle opening. While this solution eliminates the need for rotational movement, it has the drawback that the elastic piece remains in the closed position at rest. Therefore, the cap must be pushed on to force the piston to push against the elastic piece, lengthening it and releasing the seal.This operation affects the durability of the elastic material piece and also leads to misunderstandings on the part of the user, since their tendency is to push on the cap of the stopper to establish the closure and lift it to release it and not the other way around. Utility Model ES-0219945U concerns a hermetic sealing stopper designed for champagne bottles, but not to be a repeatedly usable element after opening the bottle, but rather a stopper that achieves a high hermetic seal, but comes from the bottle and is retained in its closed position by the wire incorporated in the neck of the champagne bottles. Another solution, described in Utility Model ES1004050U, consists of a stopper with a lever at its top. Tilting this lever in either direction moves a piston-like piece, which, as it descends, causes the elastic deformation of the piece that seals the bottle's opening. This solution involves a protruding element—the tilting lever—from the top of the stopper, increasing the bottle's height. This can lead to accidental collisions with the lever and make it difficult to find suitable storage spaces for the bottle. Given these drawbacks and limitations of current solutions, a bottle stopper solution is needed that can be reused after the bottle has been opened and that provides an airtight seal, while also meeting the following conditions: - Simple operation, axial thrust and not rotational. - That by pushing the user on the cap of the plug, the airtight seal is achieved without further ado, and by pulling on the cap, its release. - A minimum number of component parts. EXPLANATION OF THE INVENTION In order to meet these objectives and simultaneously solve the aforementioned technical problems, as well as provide additional advantages that will be appreciated later, the present invention provides a stopper with the following technical characteristics: It is determined by a cap that carries with it a piece of elastic synthetic material intended to be inserted into the mouth of the bottle to be closed. Attached to the cap or forming an integral part of it is a piston which, together with the cap, is capable of performing an axial movement with respect to the elastic piece; so that when the cap and the piston move in a downward axial direction, the deformation of the elastic piece occurs, which widens and thereby establishes the airtight seal of the bottle. The plunger and cap are held in the closed position by the interference between the plunger and the elastic piece. This interference is sufficient to keep the cap closed, but allows the user to overcome the interference by pulling the cap upwards, enabling the cap to move to a non-airtight position. It has been planned that the push of the plunger on the elastic piece will be complemented by the action of a spring which, like the vascular endoprosthesis called a "stent", is interposed between the two. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a perspective view of the plug that is the subject of the present invention, represented according to a non-limiting example of practical embodiment. Figure 2 shows the elevation view of the plug from Figure 1. Figure 3 is the longitudinal cross-sectional view of the plug. Figure 4 is an exploded view and assembly view of the different components of the plug, according to a possible practical realization of it. Figure 5 is a view like that of Figure 4 but with the different components represented in longitudinal section. Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of the stopper already arranged in relation to the neck mouth (8) of a bottle, in its non-airtight arrangement. Figure 7 is a view like that of Figure 6 but with the plug in the airtight sealing arrangement. PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is a bottle stopper (8) which, as externally visible components, has a cap (1) and a piece (7) made of an elastic synthetic material such as an elastomer. This piece (7) is the part that will penetrate the mouth of the neck (8) of a bottle. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the cap (1) has a faceted outer surface, but this shape can vary and adopt any other configuration without altering the essence of the invention. The elastic piece (7) has a tapered end (7.3) at its free lower end to facilitate its insertion into the bottle mouth. Figures 3, 4, and 5 show the internal components of the plug. First, there is a stem (2) with an external thread for screwing into a central recess (1.1) of the cap (1). This stem (2) passes through a washer (3) and is also screwed into a bushing (4). The stem (2) and the bushing (4) are preferably metallic. The bushing (4) has, in addition to the internal threading for the stem (2), an external threading for screwing into a rigid piece (5) which will be called the piston. As can be seen in figure 5, the piston (5) has a first upper cylindrical part (5.1) which, after a tapered part (5.2), continues into another cylindrical part (5.3), of smaller diameter than the first. In relation to this plunger (5) there is a spring piece (6) arranged as a vascular "stent". Figure 5 also shows the configuration of the elastic piece (7), which has a head (7.5) containing an annular groove (7.4) into which the washer (3) partially fits. Furthermore, the elastic piece (7) defines two annular protrusions (7.1 and 7.2) on its interior. The annular protrusion (7.1) is designed to interact with the piston piece (5), as will be seen later, and the protrusion (7.2) acts as a stop against which the spring (6) rests. As can be seen in figure 5, the annular projection (7.1) has its upper face in a conical shape to assist with the movements of the piston (5). With the plug in its non-airtight arrangement, shown in figures 1, 2 and 3, the washer (3) rests against the top of the plunger (5), resting and stopping against it. In this arrangement, the stopper can be inserted into the mouth of the neck (8) of a bottle, as shown in figure 6. In this position the stopper makes a first closure that does not have the conditions of a hermetic closure and only consists of the support of the head (7.5) of the elastic piece (7) on the neck of the bottle (8). With the plug in this non-airtight arrangement, the plunger (5) occupies the stable position represented in figure 6 by the interference between the conical part (5.2) of the plunger (5) with the annular protrusion (7.1) of the elastic piece (7). The elastic piece (7) and the spring (6) also occupy the stable non-operational position shown in Figure 6. Now, starting from this position in figure 6, it is possible that simply by the user making an axial push, from top to bottom, on the cap (1), the interference between the protrusion (7.1) of the elastic piece (7) and the piston (5) will be overcome, to move to the position represented in figure 7 which already corresponds to that of a hermetic closure of the bottle. Indeed, as can be seen in Figure 7, when the cap (1) is moved downwards, the elastic piece (7) does not move because it rests against the neck of the bottle (8), but the piston (5) does move, which, in turn, due to its taper (5.2), opens the spring (6), which in turn deforms the elastic piece (7) elastically and uniformly. In this way, the elastic piece (7) presses against the inside of the bottle's mouth, in the area of ​​its neck, creating an airtight seal. The action of the spring (6) helps to achieve a more uniform distribution of the expansion forces of the elastic piece (7), but the plug could also achieve a hermetic seal without the existence of the spring (6) just by playing with the interferences between the plunger (5) and the elastic piece (7). It should be noted that the interference between the internal annular thickening (7.1) of the elastic piece (7) and the plunger (5), along with the friction of the plunger against the spring (6), is sufficient to keep the cap in its airtight position. In this position, the cap experiences no axial force and only radial forces. Furthermore, these two actions—interference and friction—can be easily overcome by the user when opening the cap, simply by pulling the cap (1) upwards. When the plug is opened, the plunger (5) returns to its stable position shown in Figure 6 and the spring (6) elastically returns to its non-operational position; so that the elastic piece (7) also elastically returns to its stable non-operational position, thus interrupting the airtight seal. The example of the plug shown in the attached figures is a mere non-limiting example of practical implementation and may have variations as long as the essence of the invention is not altered. Thus, it has been planned, for example, to reduce the number of component parts of the plug so that, for example, the stem (2) and the bushing (4) are a single piece and that this single piece is even embedded in the cap (1), forming a single piece. Moreover, according to another variant of practical embodiment, it has been provided that the cap (1) is a single piece with the plunger (5) and that an annular projection is determined that fulfills the functions of the washer (3) so that the plug is made up of only three pieces, the cap (1), the elastic piece (7) and the spring (6) and even in two pieces if the spring (6) is dispensed with.

Claims

1. Bottle stopper, of the type that allows the repeated opening and hermetic closing of a bottle, characterized in that it consists of a cap (1), which has a plunger (5), and an elastic piece (7) of elastic synthetic material, inside which the plunger (5) is housed, the elastic piece (7) comprising a head (7.5) and an internal annular projection (7.1) that interferes with the plunger (5) establishing a friction connection between the plunger (5) and the piece (7); And because when the stopper is inserted into the neck (8) of a bottle, the head (7.5) rests against and abuts the top of the bottle mouth, and when pushed axially downwards against the cap (1) of the stopper, the plunger (5) moves axially downwards, elastically deforming the side wall of the elastic piece (7) in its contact with the internal annular projection (7.1), thus hermetically sealing the bottle mouth in the operating position. 2.A bottle stopper, according to claim 1, comprising a stent-type spring (6) that fits inside the elastic piece (7) in contact with its inner wall, such that, in the hermetically sealed operating position of the stopper, the downward displacement of the plunger (5) opens the spring and positions it between the plunger (5) and the elastic piece (7), elastically deforming said elastic piece (7).

3. A bottle stopper, according to the preceding claim, wherein the elastic piece (7) defines an internal annular projection (7.2) that acts as a support and stop for the spring (6).

4. A bottle stopper, according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein a washer (3) is arranged on the head (7.5) of the elastic piece (7) that provides a support and stop against the upper part of the plunger (5).

5. A bottle stopper, according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the plunger (5) has a tapered portion (5).2) that in the non-operating position of the stopper it interferes with the protrusion (7.1) of the elastic piece (7) and that, when moving to the operating position of the stopper, it enters inside the spring (6), causing the plunger (5) to open the spring (6) elastically and the spring (6) to press against the elastic piece (7).

6. Bottle stopper, according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the elastic piece (7) has its lower end free, with a tapered configuration (7.3), to guide and facilitate its insertion through the mouth of the bottle.