Bottle safety device

Abstract

A bottle safety device comprises a base ring (10) configured to be engaged with an upper portion (12) of a neck (4) of a bottle, a top ring (20) configured to be engaged with a stopper (6) of said bottle, and a drawstring extension (30) comprising two ends (32, 34) stably constrained to the base ring (10) and to the top ring (20), respectively. The drawstring extension (30) comprises at least two intermediate portions (36, 38) arranged between said two ends (32, 34) and interconnected by frangible bridges (40).

Description

[0001] Bottle safety device

[0002] Description

[0003] The present application relates in general to safety devices for liquid containers and has been developed with particular regard to a safety device for bottles provided with a stopper and containing liquids under pressure, such as beverages containing carbon dioxide.

[0004] In the beverages industry numerous products are known, such as sparkling wine, champagne, cider, etc., which contain carbon dioxide added during the production cycle or produced directly by the liquid substance during fermentation. These beverages are preserved in containers, for example bottles, provided with a stopper which is usually made of natural material, for example cork, but sometimes made with polymer material, for example silicone or plastic, for example PE or HDPE.

[0005] Once the product has been inserted inside a container, for example a bottle, and once the bottle has been closed with a stopper, the carbon dioxide generates, over time, an overpressure of at least 3 - 3.5 bar inside the bottle. This overpressure tends to expel the stopper from the bottle in an involuntary and undesirable manner, i.e. without any action on the part of a person, when the frictional force exerted by the stopper on the walls of the bottle neck is exceeded by the overpressure generated by the carbon dioxide.

[0006] For this reason, for example in the sector of sparkling wines and champagne, it is known, during the bottling stage, to add a retaining structure, for example a cage, constrained to the top end of the bottle neck, so as to oppose further the overpressure inside the bottle and prevent the involuntary and undesirable expulsion of the stopper.

[0007] Nonetheless, the overpressure inside the container results in further problems also in a situation of where the stopper is voluntarily removed. In fact, during the opening of a bottle, said overpressure is such that the stopper is expelled from the bottle neck at high speed, namely with a high acceleration value. This condition does not allow a person who is opening the bottle, without holding the stopper in a hand, to know where the stopper will end up once it has been expelled, with the consequent risk that it might hit persons or objects close to the bottle itself.

[0008] The presence of a retaining structure, i.e. a cage, does not eliminate this problem, but on the contrary increases it. Once the cage has been removed it is in fact possible that the stopper may be expelled without any action by a person since the overpressure inside the bottle, which is not sufficient to overcome also the retaining force exerted by the cage, may be sufficient to overcome the frictional force exerted by the stopper alone. In this situation the person who is opening the bottle is not ready to retain the stopper and is even less ready to determine where the stopper could end up. Therefore the risk of causing damage or injury to things or persons, including the person opening the bottle, is very much greater.

[0009] There therefore exists the need to provide a safety device which avoids the aforementioned problems and which, at the same time, does not modify substantially the bottling procedure nor the technical characteristics of the stopper or the retaining structure which are currently used.

[0010] The general object of the present invention is to find a solution to this need. A further object of the present invention is to provide a safety device for liquid containers which is easy to install, can be immediately used and has a low production cost.

[0011] In view of this object, the Proprietor has had the idea of providing, according to the invention, a safety device for liquid containers as defined in claim 1.

[0012] The dependent claims define further innovative characteristics of the present invention.

[0013] Further characteristic features and advantages of the present invention will become clearer from the description given below.

[0014] Reference will now be made in detail to the various embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are shown in the attached figures, in which:

[0015] - Figure 1 is a side view of one of the embodiments of a safety device according to the present invention;

[0016] - Figure 2 is an axonometric view of the inside of the safety device according to Figure 1 ;

[0017] - Figure 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the safety device according to Figure 1 ;

[0018] - Figure 4 is a close-up view of a detail of Figure 3;

[0019] - Figure 5 is a side view of a further embodiment of a safety device according to the present invention;

[0020] - Figure 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the safety device according to Figure 5;

[0021] - Figure 7a is a schematic side view of the top end of a closed bottle comprising the safety device according to the present invention; - Figure 7b is a schematic cross-sectional view of Figure 7a;

[0022] - Figure 8 is a sequence illustrating the transition of the safety device from a first operating position into a second operating position;

[0023] - Figure 9 is a schematic view, from below, of one of the embodiments of the safety device according to the present invention in its second operating position; and

[0024] - Figure 10 is a sequence illustrating a process for bottling and closing a bottle comprising the safety device according to the present invention.

[0025] In order to facilitate understanding, identical reference numbers have been used, where possible, to identify identical common elements in the figures. It is understood that elements or characteristics of one embodiment may be conveniently incorporated in other embodiments without further clarifications.

[0026] Each example is provided merely by way of illustration of the invention and is understood as not being a limitation thereof. For example, the technical characteristics shown or described, since they form part of one embodiment, may be integrated within or associated with other embodiments in order to produce a further embodiment. It is understood that the present invention will be inclusive of these modifications and variants.

[0027] It is understood that elements or characteristics of one embodiment may be conveniently incorporated in other embodiments without further clarifications.

[0028] With reference to the attached figures, a safety device for liquid containers, denoted generally by the number 1 , comprises a base ring 10 configured to be engaged with a terminal end 12 of a bottle neck 4. The term “ring” in the present description is not understood as meaning exclusively a structure which is circular in plan view, but more generally a self-enclosed structure defining internally an empty space or a through-hole. A structure which is circular in plan view for the base ring 10 is one of the preferred forms since it is particularly suitable for engagement with the outer wall of the upper portion of the neck 4 of a bottle, which usually has a cylindrical shape. However, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a base ring 10 also with a structure which is polygonal, elliptical, ovaloid, etc., in plan view.

[0029] With particular reference to the embodiment shown in Figures 3 and 4, the base ring 10 may comprise preferably a bottom collar 14, configured for centring the safety device 1 on the terminal end 12 of the neck 4 of a bottle.

[0030] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the bottom collar 14 may comprise a centring and engaging element, preferably a projection or protuberance 15, formed on the inner surface of the bottom collar 14 and configured to centre and engage the base ring 10 on the terminal end 12 of the neck 4 of a bottle.

[0031] The safety device for liquid containers 1 may comprise preferably also a top ring 20 configured to be engaged with a stopper 6 inserted inside the neck 4 of said bottle. In this case also, a structure which is circular in plan view for the top ring 10 is one of the preferred forms since it is particularly suitable for engagement with the outer wall of a stopper 6, which usually has a cylindrical shape. However, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a top ring 20 also with a structure which is polygonal, elliptical, ovaloid, etc., in plan view.

[0032] According to one of the embodiments shown in Figures 2 and 3, the top ring 20 may comprise a plurality of gripping lugs 22, which are preferably distributed radially along the internal perimeter of the top ring 20 and projecting towards an empty space inside the top ring 20. As will become clearer below, the gripping lugs 22 are configured to increase the engagement of the top ring 20 on a stopper 6.

[0033] The safety device for liquid containers 1 also comprises a drawstring extension 30 comprising two ends 32, 34 stably constrained to the base ring 10 and to the top ring 20. The drawstring extension 30 preferably comprises at least two intermediate portions 36, 38 arranged between said two ends 32, 34 and interconnected by frangible bridges 40.

[0034] The frangible bridges 40 break if or when the two rings 10, 20 are moved away from each other, for example when a pulling force is exerted on the top ring 20 while the base ring 10 remains stationary, or vice versa. In this situation, the ends 32, 34 of the drawstring extension 30 remain constrained to the base ring 10 and to the top ring 20, respectively, while the at least two intermediate portions 36, 38 are separated allowing the drawstring extension 30 to extend.

[0035] In other words, the safety device may assume a first operating position, in which said frangible bridges 40 are not broken, and the drawstring extension 30 forms a wall with a preferably curvilinear form or an annular collar, and a second operating position, in which said frangible bridges 40 are broken and the drawstring extension 30 forms a string or ribbon. The distance between the base ring 10 and the top ring 20 in the first operating position is less then the distance between the base ring 10 and the top ring 20 in the second operating position.

[0036] In particular, all the frangible bridges 40 according to the present invention are detached from the intermediate portions 36, 38 of the drawstring extension 30 without creating any substantial or evident loose parts, namely the frangible bridges 40 break but remain preferably attached to the intermediate portions 36,

[0037] 38. In a situation in which the base ring 10 is engaged with a terminal end 12 of the neck 4 of the bottle and the top ring 20 is engaged with the stopper 6, the breakage of the frangible bridges 40 separates the intermediate portions 36, 38 so as to allow extension of the drawstring extension 30 and therefore a movement of the stopper 6 with respect to the bottle. At the same time, the stopper 6 remains constrained to the upper portion of the bottle neck 4 owing to the drawstring extension 30 which is stably constrained both to the top ring 20, which is engaged with stopper 6, and to the base ring 10 which is engaged with the upper portion of the bottle 4, as shown in Figure 8.

[0038] In this way, even if a person does not hold the stopper 6 with one hand, before or when opening the bottle 4, the stopper 6 will not strike objects or person since it is constrained to the bottle by the safety device 1 .

[0039] The pulling force exerted by the stopper 6 on the top ring 20 and corresponding to the kinetic energy assumed by the stopper 6 once expelled from the bottle, is opposed by the resistive force needed in order to break the frangible bridges 40. In this way, once the drawstring extension 30 is completely extended, the kinetic force of the stopper 6 is significantly reduced, if not zero.

[0040] Moreover, owing to the preferred solution of the invention, since the kinetic energy of the stopper 6 once expelled, is advantageously absorbed so as to cause breakage of the frangible bridges 40, any kinetic energy which is remaining when the drawstring extension 30 reaches its extended condition is less than that needed for its breakage, or, at the most, is almost definitively absorbed by the breakage of the frangible bridges 40 such that, even if the drawstring extension 30 were to break unexpectedly, the stopper 6 would have lost its dangerous impact force. Owing to the substantial reduction of the kinetic energy of the stopper 6 resulting from the breakage of the frangible bridges 40, the drawstring extension 30 may also have a reduced final resistance (not having to withstand the initial kinetic energy of the expelled stopper 6) and therefore a cross-section which is sufficiently small to allow the formation of a safety device 1 which, in its initial rest condition, has a distance between the two rings which is sufficiently small (for example in the region of 0.1 mm) for it to be easily mounted on the terminal end 12 of the bottle neck 4. The stopper 6 may be advantageously of the conventional “mushroom” type.

[0041] The fact that the string in the extended condition does not have to withstand all of the kinetic energy of the stopper 6 when it is expelled also means that the drawstring extension 30 may have a limited strength and may be easily broken manually once it has performed its function, so as to thus eliminate the fastening between the opened bottle and stopper 6 and not have a stopper 6 which is still fastened to the bottle when pouring the beverage contained therein.

[0042] The safety device 1 may, for example, be easily made with a wall having a small thickness (for example 1 mm) and not affect at all or only to a very small degree the appearance of a conventional bottle, for example containing sparkling wine or a similar beverage. The safety device 1 may be for example moulded as one piece from a suitable plastic material.

[0043] According to a further advantageous characteristic feature of the present invention, the frangible bridges 40 are formed integrally inside the safety device 1.

[0044] According to the embodiment shown in Figures 1 , 2 and 3, the frangible bridges

[0045] 40 consist of, or comprise, a plurality of frangible connections, which are preferably distributed spaced along the extension of the at least two intermediate portions 34,36.

[0046] According to the embodiment shown in Figures 5 and 6, the frangible bridges 40 consist of, or comprise, a wall which extends preferably along the entire extension of the at least two intermediate portions 34, 36. According to other embodiments, the wall of the frangible bridges 40 has a thickness smaller than the thickness of said intermediate portions 34, 36. In any case, the value of the thickness of the wall of the frangible bridges 40 is such that a low pulling force is required in order to break the frangible bridges 40.

[0047] According to other embodiments, the frangible bridges 34, 36 comprise both one or more frangible connections, preferably distributed spaced along the extension of the at least two intermediate portions 34, 36, and a wall which extends along part of the extension of the at least two intermediate portions 34, 36.

[0048] According to one of the preferred embodiments, the drawstring extension 30 is spiral-shaped with a plurality of spirals or loops interconnected by frangible bridges 40, the at least two intermediate portions 34, 36 arranged between said two ends 30, 32 forming one or more of said spirals or loops.

[0049] According to other embodiments, not shown, the safety device 1 according to the present invention is formed integrally with a bottle stopper. According to this embodiment, the top ring 20 may be incorporated in the stopper, or the stopper portion projecting from the bottle may form the top ring 20. The base ring 10 may also be incorporated in the stopper, for example in a stopper portion configured to be engaged with an upper portion of the neck of a bottle. In all cases, the drawstring extension 30 comprises two ends 32, 34 which are stably constrained to the base ring 10 and to the top ring 20, respectively, and comprises at least two intermediate portions 36, 38 arranged between said two ends 32, 34 interconnected by frangible bridges 40. According to these embodiments, the drawstring extension 30 may be spiral-shaped with a plurality of spirals or loops interconnected by frangible bridges 40, the at least two intermediate portions 34, 36 arranged between said two ends 30, 32 forming one or more of said spirals or loops.

[0050] The present invention also relates to a bottle provided with a closing stopper 6 containing a liquid under pressure and comprising a safety device 1 as described hitherto.

[0051] The present invention also relates to a process for installing the safety device 1 on a bottle containing a beverage under pressure.

[0052] Owing to the innovative features of the safety device 1 according to the invention, the process for bottling a beverage with carbon dioxide and subsequent closing of a bottle may also remain substantially the known process, and likewise any automatic bottling and closing plant may remain substantially the known plant, it only being necessary to fit the safety device 1 , for example by means of force-fitting with pressure onto the terminal end 12 of the neck 4 of the bottle, during the initial or intermediate phase of the process.

[0053] Figure 10 shows by way of example a process for bottling and closing a bottle provided with the safety device according to the invention. The process comprises a first step during which a safety device 1 , as described above, is placed on a bottle, and in particular on the top edge of the neck 4 of the bottle, namely on the opening 5.

[0054] The process comprises a second step during which the safety device 1 is pressed onto the bottle so that the base ring 10 engages with the upper portion of the bottle neck 4. In the case of a bottles of sparkling wine or champagne, the base ring 10 engages with the circular projection present on the bottle neck.

[0055] The process comprises a third step in which a stopper 6 is inserted in the safety device 1 engaged with the terminal end 12 of the bottle neck 4, namely the bottom end of the stopper 6 is inserted inside the top ring 20.

[0056] In the case where the safety device is made in accordance with the embodiment in which the safety device 1 comprises the plurality of gripping lugs 22, as described above, the insertion of the stopper 6 through the top ring 20 causes the gripping lugs 22 to bend towards the inside of the neck 4 of the bottle, while remaining in contact with the outer surface of the stopper 6. In this way, when the stopper 6 comes out of the bottle neck, as shown in Figure 9, the gripping lugs 22 exert a further gripping action which allows the top ring 20 to remain engaged with the stopper 6 and exert a pulling force able to break the frangible bridges 40.

[0057] Obviously, the bottling step, namely the step during which the bottle is filled with the respective beverage, is performed before insertion of the stopper 6 (step 3) or preferably is performed also before step 1 , before the safety device 1 is placed in position.

[0058] The process comprises a fourth step of pressing the stopper 6 inside the neck of the bottle 4. During this step the stopper 6 crosses the curvilinear wall or the annular collar formed by the drawstring extension 30 in its first operating position.

[0059] In the case where a retaining structure, i.e. the cage 9, is used for the bottle, the process also involves an intermediate step between the third step and the fourth step in which the cage 9 is positioned on the stopper 6 and a step following the fourth step during which the cage 9 is closed around the bottle neck 4.

[0060] For the above description it is clear how the use of the safety device 1 according to the present invention does not modify at all or does not interfere with the bottling procedure for bottles of the known type, also in the case where the presence of a retaining structure is required.

Claims

Claims1. A bottle safety device comprising a base ring (10) configured to be engaged with an upper portion (12) of a neck (4) of a bottle, a top ring (20) configured to be engaged with a stopper (6) of said bottle, and a drawstring extension (30) comprising two ends (32, 34) stably constrained to the base ring (10) and to the top ring (20) respectively, said drawstring extension (30) comprising at least two intermediate portions (36, 38) arranged between said two ends (32, 34) and interconnected by frangible bridges (40).

2. The bottle safety device according to claim 1 , characterized in that the distance between the base ring (10) and the top ring (20) in a first operating position, in which said frangible bridges (40) are not broken, is less than the distance between the base ring (10) and the top ring (20) in a second operating position, in which said frangible bridges (40) are broken.

3. The bottle safety device according to claim 2, characterized in that in the first operating position the drawstring extension (30) forms a curvilinear wall.

4. The bottle safety device according to claim 2, characterized in that in said first operating position the drawstring extension (30) forms an annular collar.

5. The bottle safety device according to claim 1 , characterized in that said at least two intermediate portions (36, 38) are spiral / loop-shaped.

6. The bottle safety device according to claim 1 , characterized in that the frangible bridges (40) comprise a wall preferably extending over the full extension of the at least two intermediate portions (34, 36).

7. A bottle comprising within it a liquid under pressure and a stopper (6) for closing said bottle, characterized in that it further comprises a bottle safety device as defined in claims 1 to 6.

8. A process for bottling and closing a bottle comprising the following steps: a) placing a bottle safety device (1 ), as defined in claims 1 to 6, on a terminal end (12) of a neck (4) of a bottle, b) pressing the safety device (1 ) onto the terminal end (12) so that the base ring(10) engages with the terminal end of the neck (4) of the bottle; c) inserting a stopper (6) into the safety device (1 ); and d) pressing the stopper (6) inside the neck of the bottle (4).

9. The process according to claim 8, characterized in that, between step c) and step d), it comprises a step of placing a retaining structure (9) on the stopper (6), and a step following step d) in which the retaining structure (9) is closed around the neck (4) of the bottle.

Images