Cork Stopper with Elastomer-Filled Channels for Gas Permeability Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current cork stoppers exhibit high variability in gas permeability, making it difficult to control gas exchanges between a bottle and its environment, and there is a need for a manufacturing process that can produce stoppers with predefined and consistent gas permeability values.
Innovation Solution
A cork stopper design featuring channels filled with a crosslinkable silicone-based elastomer, which allows for controlled gas permeability by adjusting the ratio of channel volume to plug volume and elastomer permeability, with the channels created through mechanical drilling, laser drilling, or high-pressure water jetting, and filled with a liquid impermeable material that crosslinks under temperature and pressure conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If micro-agglomerated corks are used to achieve homogeneous structure, then manufacturing precision is improved, but gas permeability is reduced to low values and cannot be increased without increasing heterogeneity
Solution Approach 1:
The invention introduces channels with specific diameters (0.5mm to 6mm) that are filled with elastomer material to create controlled gas permeability pathways. This segmentation approach allows the cork to maintain homogeneous structure while providing defined channels for gas exchange, resolving the contradiction between homogeneity and gas permeability.
Solution Approach 2:
The elastomer material is selectively placed in specific channels within the cork stopper, creating local regions of high gas permeability while the rest of the cork maintains its homogeneous, low-permeability structure. This local modification allows precise control of overall gas permeability without compromising structural homogeneity.
2Quantity of substance
If natural tubed corks are used, then gas permeability is maintained at high values, but variability in permeability from one stopper to another increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the permeability parameter from relying on natural cork tube structures to using controlled elastomer-filled channels. By adjusting channel diameter, number of channels (1-15), and elastomer properties, precise and repeatable permeability values can be achieved, eliminating the high variability inherent in natural tubed corks while maintaining high gas permeability.
3Quantity of substance
If channels are made larger to increase gas permeability, then gas exchange is improved, but heterogeneity of the stopper structure increases
Solution Approach 1:
Rather than increasing overall cork heterogeneity, the invention introduces localized channels with controlled dimensions (0.5mm to 6mm) that provide enhanced gas permeability. The elastomer filling material maintains structural integrity while creating defined pathways for gas exchange, achieving high permeability without compromising the homogeneous nature of the bulk cork material.
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 solution enables the production of cork stoppers with precise and consistent gas permeability, reducing variability and allowing for controlled gas exchange, thereby enhancing the maturation process of beverages without altering the physical properties of the stopper.
Implementation Method 1
the plug is maintained under temperature and pressure conditions allowing the crosslinking of the elastomer
Data Source
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AI summary
A stopper for sealing a bottle, comprising two opposite faces and a lateral surface such that it can be forced into the neck of the bottle, and in which at least one channel (2) is formed between the two opposite faces of the stopper (1), so as to connect the inside and outside of the bottle. The at least one channel (2) is filled with a liquid-impermeable material, having a gas permeability greater than that of the stopper (1) so as to control the amount of gas flowing through the stopper.