Cork Stoppers via Spiral Winding and Sterilization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cork stopper manufacturing methods fail to fully sterilize the interior, leading to biological contamination and alteration of wine quality due to residual red powders and the use of synthetic materials, resulting in inconsistent product characteristics and high costs.
Innovation Solution
A process involving spiral winding of treated cork leaves on themselves without adhesives, utilizing natural adhesive waxes like ceric oxide and friedeline to create aseptic, fully internal sterilized cork stoppers with controlled porosity and density, using boiling, hyperbaric treatment, and micro-suction to remove contaminants.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional punching method is used to manufacture cork stoppers, then the stoppers can be produced efficiently, but the interior cannot be fully sterilized and red powders remain inside the pores
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the cork material into thin leaves or sheets that are then wound in a spiral configuration. This segmentation allows sterilization agents to penetrate through the entire structure, achieving complete internal sterilization while maintaining manufacturing efficiency through the layered construction approach.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from a conventional solid block punching approach to a spiral winding configuration of cork leaves. This dimensional change from 3D block to layered spiral structure enables thorough sterilization penetration while maintaining production efficiency and allowing adhesive removal through the hollow center of the spiral.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If spiral winding of cork leaves is used, then complete elimination of red powders is achieved, but synthetic adhesives and foreign materials must be added
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and removes the synthetic adhesive component from the spiral winding process. By using cork leaves with natural adhesive properties or alternative bonding methods, the harmful synthetic adhesives are eliminated while maintaining the structural integrity of the spiral configuration for complete red powder removal.
Solution Approach 2:
The cork leaves are treated to activate their natural adhesive waxes, allowing them to bond to each other without synthetic adhesives. This self-service approach uses the inherent properties of the cork material itself to achieve the winding structure, eliminating contamination from foreign synthetic materials.
3Ease of manufacture
If synthetic adhesives are used in cork stopper manufacturing, then the stoppers can be assembled, but health risks and migration issues arise
Solution Approach 1:
The cork material is treated thermally or chemically to activate its natural adhesive waxes, enabling self-bonding during the spiral winding process. This eliminates the need for synthetic adhesives entirely, maintaining assembly capability through the material's inherent properties while removing all associated health risks and migration concerns.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the bonding mechanism from synthetic adhesive-based to natural wax-based bonding by modifying the physical or chemical parameters of the cork leaves. Thermal treatment activates the natural adhesives, providing a safe, health-compatible bonding solution that maintains manufacturing feasibility.
4Manufacturing precision
If conventional punching method is used, then manufacturing costs are high and waste is generated, but product specifications vary between stoppers
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses standardized cork leaves of uniform thickness and dimensions that are wound in a consistent spiral pattern. This segmentation into standardized components ensures specification uniformity across all stoppers while maintaining production efficiency through the repetitive, systematic winding process.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention controls and standardizes key parameters such as leaf thickness, spiral winding tension, and compaction pressure to achieve uniform specification across all stoppers. These parameter controls ensure consistent porosity, density, and dimensional characteristics while maintaining high production throughput.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method produces high-quality, 100% biological cork stoppers with complete internal sterilization, reduced waste, and customizable physical characteristics, eliminating red powders and synthetic contaminants, thereby enhancing wine quality and reducing economic and environmental impacts.
Implementation Method 1
subsequent boiling andhyperbaric treatment at high temperature
Implementation Method 2
subsequent boiling andhyperbaric treatment at high temperature
Implementation Method 3
The compacting of the stopper by means of the process occurring by catalyzing and activating the natural adhesive waxes contained in the leafs of the cork itself
Implementation Method 4
micro-suction to remove contaminants
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
The process subject of this invention allows to reach noticeable advantages in manufacturing cork stoppers, like fully removal of the red powders, elimination of scrap, orientation of cut to obtain the desired direction of the porosity, full internal sterilization, with presetting of the physical characteristics of density, elasticity and compressibility, by means of treatment and winding of the cork leaf in a controlled environment with precise values of humidity, temperature and pressure to obtain a stopper for vine-growing and wine-producing products and distillates overcoming the drawbacks at present on the market.